“I asked if she knew about All Hands and Hearts and if she was close to the base and she said, ‘I love All Hands and Hearts – they fixed my roof!’ so I knew my best way to put money into the local community was to stay at a local Airbnb.” – Lori O’neil

The Airbnb the O’Neil family stayed at is owned by Gladius, a homeowner in Yabucoa who was affected by Hurricane Maria. Gladius’ home suffered severe damage from Maria which resulted in numerous leaks from her ceiling. The leaks produced mold damaging the inside of her home, creating an unpleasant and damaging environment. All Hands and Hearts came to her home, fixed her roof and performed sanitation to remove the mold.

Gladius had been unsure if Airbnb was right for her – she had considered canceling her listing before she got a message from Lori. After hearing her story and her plans to volunteer with All Hands and Hearts, Gladius knew that keeping her Airbnb open was the right thing to do.

Before visiting the home, Lori had some questions. “I asked if she knew about All Hands and Hearts and if she was close to the base and she said, ‘I love All Hands and Hearts – they fixed my roof!’ so I knew my best way to put money into the local community was to stay at a local Airbnb.”

The O’Neill family and Gladius immediately bonded. Gladius showed the family around Yabucoa and told them how All Hands and Hearts saved her home. Having her home repaired gave Gladius the motivation to maintain her home. She started to repaint, find new furniture, and slowly turn it back into somewhere she could call home.

When the O’Neill family arrived on site, they mentioned that they’re staying at Gladius’ home. Their site supervisor Robert immediately recognized the name – he had worked on her home several months prior.

This was not just a rare string of consequences; instead, it’s an example of the extensive connections and impacts that the All Hands and Hearts community creates.

Yabucoa, Puerto Rico