Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior nightPolice: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
Women lost a staggering $800 billion in income in just the last year. While business bounces back, ladies are still struggling to return to work, and there are two reasons many believe the pandemic has hurt women so much more than men. Consider three women with very different backgrounds: Teshawna Barton, Krystal Hartman, and Megan Rose. “I am a single mom right now, of three babies, three—toddlers, all of them,” Teshawna said. Krystal says her son is “two-and-a-half years old, and he’s one smart cookie.” “I’m a mom with three kids under five,” Megan said. Motherhood is the one thing they all share. For Megan, work was the only stable thing in her life last year. Her non-profit, Better Together, got busier. She finds children a place to stay out of foster care while their parents get help. But as worked picked up, her children’s daycare shut down. She and her husband had to split their workdays. “We’re worried about our kids, we’re worried about health, we’re worried about schooling,” Megan said. “The pandemic has made everything so much harder.” Teshawna met Megan through Better Together. The single mother had just moved into a shelter and was trying to get back on her feet when the pandemic hit. “I’ve been homeless for, like, five years,” Teshwna said. “I went from working five days a week to maybe four days, to one day, to no days.” Krystal also lost work. “I got a job at Home Depot, but that was only seasonal, temporary.” Women were harder hit because they make up the hardest-hit job sectors, including leisure and hospitality, as well as education. Krystal, who moved down to Florida right before the pandemic, remembers those early days. “Everything costs money, and trying to be able to save every little bit we could,” Krystal said. “It’s very difficult.” Across the country, childcare centers cut 35% of their staff in the first two months of the pandemic. In June 2020, workers started to return as those centers reopened, but we have a long way to go. “When the pandemic happened, we just assumed that our mothers would fill the gap,” said Dr. Alise Bartley, a clinical assistant professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. “This gap has been in regards to our children’s education. This has been so challenging for our poor mothers. They’re so overwhelmed; they’re not teachers.” Bartley is concerned all the juggling is having a devastating toll on mothers’ mental health. She says to moms: Take a step back, ask for help—even from your children, assigning them more chores if needed—then figure out what you need. “First and the most important thing is to acknowledge ‘I’m overwhelmed,'” Bartley said. “This is more than just taking a hot bubble bath, this is really about ‘What do I need to feel good?'” Bartley recommends you commit to starting a behavior today that gives you a mental break: walk, call a friend, do simple breathing exercises and reach out to other moms, just like these three did. “Moms don’t have to do it alone,” Megan said. “Dads don’t have to do it alone. We, as parents, don’t have to do it alone.” If your sleep pattern or diet has changed drastically, Bartley says those are signs of depression and you should reach out for help. She also says more mothers are turning to excessive drinking, something else that worries her. Below are mental health resources available to Southwest Floridians at the national and local level: National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-8255 suicidepreventionlifeline.org David Lawrence Center (Collier County) (239)455-8500 davidlawrencecenter.org National Alliance on Mental Illness, Collier County namicollier.org National Alliance on Mental Illness, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry Counties namilee.org The National Alliance for Caregiving offers a free handbook Circle of Care: A Guidebook for Mental Health Caregivers Collier County Mental Health Court ca.cjis20.org/home/collier Lee County Mental Health Court ca.cjis20.org/home/lee Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance convio.net Local Support Groups: Anxiety and Depression Association of America adaa.org U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Mental Health and Addiction Insurance Help) hhs.gov/programs/topic-sites/mental-health-parity Local veterans resource: Home Base SWFL https://homebase.org/home-base-southwest-florida/