ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
The discussion surrounding mental health is an important one; it also should never be taken lightly. The National Alliance on Mental Illness in Collier County raises awareness one step at a time. The NAMI of Collier County hosted its Hope Shines’ mental health awareness walk at the Arthrex Center on Saturday. More than 600 people walked one mile around the campus with a purpose. Some of the participants WINK News spoke to shared a common story about the mental health challenges they’ve endured and conquered. Carol Anderson’s journey began when she started to feel isolated. “It was not good for me to be that isolated without any inner social interaction or anything,” said Anderson. So they sent me all the materials about NAMI, and sure enough, I went over, and I’ve been there every day since.” For Donna Ginter, her journey started with her son’s depression. “What really brought me out here is helping my son; to find to help him to be what he wants to be because of his depression and so forth, being his father passed away,” said Ginter. “NAMI is helping me to help him to cope with all his behavioral issues.” Barbaro Alvarez’s journey started with a health diagnosis and separation anxiety when he moved to the U.S. from Cuba. “I started feeling a little depressed. And at the same time, I was trying to ignore everything, my feelings, but I was crying every night, just thinking of my family,” said Alvarez. “I’m just so happy to be part of NAMI.” Each person conquered the obstacles but was never alone. Beth Hatch, the CEO of NAMI, said she wants to further expand the topic of the importance of mental health. “The more help and early intervention and advocacy that we can give each of these individuals, the more success stories and the more wins that we’re gonna have, and truly, as we always say, no one is ever gonna be alone,” said Hatch. “It’s our mission all together to be ambassadors to remove that stigma. Mental health needs to be equal to physical health.” Resources for help NAMI Collier County 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org/. 988 is a confidential, free crisis service available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Lifeline connects people to the nearest crisis center in the Lifeline national network. These centers provide crisis counseling and mental health referrals.Crisis Text LineText “HELLO” to 741741The Crisis Text hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the U.S. It serves anyone in any type of crisis and connects them with a crisis counselor who can provide support and information.Veterans Crisis LineCall 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and press 1 or text to 838255The Veterans Crisis Line is a free, confidential resource that connects veterans 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a trained responder. The service is available to all veterans, even if they are not registered with the VA or enrolled in VA healthcare.National Disaster Distress HelplineCall or text 1-800-985-5990The disaster distress helpline provides immediate crisis counseling for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster. The helpline is free, multilingual, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233 Text ” LOVEIS” to 22522 TTY 1-800-787-3224 National Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) Text 1-800-422-4453 National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) Online Chat The Eldercare Locator 1-800-677-1116 TTY Instructions Support Websites National Helpline or call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) Mental Health Treatment National Alliance for Children’s Grief National Runaway Safe Line Stop Bullying Florida Council Against Sexual Violence Florida Narcotics Anonymous National Eating Disorders Association Hope for Healing Local Community Resources Tobacco Free Florida 211 Support Hotlines National Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) Florida Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-500-1119, Florida Relay 711, TTY: 1-800-621-4202 Florida Sexual Violence information line 1-888-956-7273 National Runaway Safe line 1-800-RUNAWAY National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline 1-866-331-9474 – Text: LOVEIS to 22522 National Human Trafficking Hotline 1-888-373-7888, Florida Relay 711, or Text 233733, https://humantraffickinghotline.org/ Florida Abuse Hotline 1-800-962-2873 or TTY:1-800-955-8771 Florida Elder Helpline 1-800-963-5337 or TTY: 1-800-955-8771 Non-emergency Legal Hotline 1-800-500-1119, prompt 3 General Resources and Hotlines | Florida Department of Health Mental Health Helplines NAMI HelpLine | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness is a free nationwide peer-support service providing information, resources, referrals, and support to people living with a mental health condition, their family members and caregivers, mental health providers, and the public. HelpLine staff and volunteers are experienced, well-trained, and able to provide guidance.The NAMI HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., EST.1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or helpline@nami.org Teen Line: An anonymous, nonjudgmental space for youth. Teen Line Teens can access personal peer-to-peer support from highly trained teens supervised by adult mental health professionals.The Teen Line can be reached at 800-852-8336 Nationwide.