#3. The Flood Story.

The days are flowing together now with each a bit different but each connected by the strong undertow of the need to help these people get their lives back.  We've worked in 4 homes now...insulating, drywalling, muddling, tapping, painting...and heard the homeowner's flood story and how they yearn to get back into their home.  Aug 13, 2016, 39" of rain fell in 19 hours.  Up to 12' of water flooded 140,000 homes in 3 parishes.  There were 25,000 boat rescues.  It's considered the 3rd worst USA disaster of all times.  Why didn't we hear more about it??  Election and Olympics news coverage took priority.  FEMA did show up and we heard about the red tape, delays, rules & regulations that make FEMA so ineffective.  I told some of these young whipper-snappers to get in there & fix that agency! Did you know they only help people with LESS than $15,000 worth of damage?  If you apply for a FEMA trailer to live in, if you are approved, you only get it for 18 months or less.  Sounds like lots of time till you try to find someone to get gut, sanitize & rebuild...say nothing about rounding up the supplies.  Those someone's are working for people with lots of ready $$.  So while they wait--black mold grows.  Hope dwindles.  When AHV shows up & stays on the job till the house if ready for an electrician & plumber--it's no wonder we see the homeowners overwhelmed with relief and joy.  Today the homeowner told us her husband is dying of Alzheimer's and we were giving her back her life.  I go to bed each night exhausted and deeply satisfied with my day's work.