Florida family thanks East Nashville Airbnb owners for offering free shelter in Milton

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) -Airbnb owners in East Nashville are offering free stays to people evacuating Florida because of Hurricane Milton.

A family who stayed at one of the Airbnbs said they were overwhelmed by the act of kindness shared with them by complete strangers.

The Florida family said they spent more than 15 hours straight driving from Sarasota, Florida, to Nashville, Tennessee.

Julia Kalyuzhnyy said the touching gesture made her cry.

“When you first hear a hurricane warning, you don’t think much of it because we had just passed through Helene and it wasn’t bad, it didn’t hit us in Sarasota,” Kalyuzhnyy said.

But after days of advancing weather reports, Kalyuzhnyy said she and her family heard the update that Hurricane Milton would hit Florida as a potentially catastrophic storm.

“We were listening and waiting, and then as soon as the evacuations were sent, we became part of the mandatory evacuation area,” Kalyuzhnyy said. “We realized we had to leave. With my mother being disabled, we knew it wasn’t something we wanted to go through again.”

Kalyuzhnyy said moments after giving it some thought, she, her mother Lyudmila Kalyuzhnyy and her sister packed up their house with sandbags, packed up the car and began driving out of Sarasota, Florida.

“It was stressful. We packed our bags and decided to drive to Nashville, Tennessee, where we have family,” Kalyuzhnyy said.

The family said that during a 20-hour trip, Kalyuzhnyy’s other sister, who lives in Nashville, sent them a message that left them speechless. A family in East Nashville posted on Facebook offering their Airbnb to those evacuating from Florida and wanted Julia’s family to occupy the space.

“Totally strangers offered to open their home. Another lady offered to buy us groceries, and it didn’t stop there. Another lady offered to buy us dinner,” Kalyuzhnyy said.

Kalyuzhnyy’s mother, Lyudmila, said she didn’t think ‘thank you’ was enough for those who helped. “I’m very happy and very grateful for everything people have done,” said Lyudmila.

Even after settling into the Airbnb, Kalyuzhnyy said, they still couldn’t believe it.

“The fact that there are people so anonymous, and so humble, that they don’t even care about recognition. That’s what really surprised me,” Kalyuzhnyy said.

A helping hand lifted the Kalyuzhnyys’ lives from fear and worry to spend the afternoon in Shelby Park.

“They opened their hearts and were ready to help at any time,” said Lyudmila.

The gesture of kindness is something Kalyuzhnyy said she will never forget: “I love seeing people being family and not expecting anything in return. It just opens up a place where we can hope and dream and be friends and family, and it’s such an unrealistic thing,” Kalyuzhnyy said.

The Kalyuzhnyys said they would pray for those weathering the storm in Florida.