Today one of our teams is performing a temporary flooring fix in a home in Louisiana. The home was initially damaged by Hurricane Ida in August 2021. It lost the roof to extensive damage, the walls damaged by water that seeped in during the storm, and the home sustained plumbing and electrical damage. Flooding damaged the flooring from underneath the home. The couple who lived in this home continue to live there today, waiting for their name to make it to the top of the list for repairs.
As we find with many homeowners we work with, insurance funds and FEMA assistance only go so far. The couple was able to repair the roof with what assistance they received. The rest of the home, which sustained extensive water damage, waits for gutting so the repair process can begin.
But the most pressing need- the couple who lives here faces medical conditions which require a wheelchair for one of them. Flooring throughout the home sustained major damage from Hurricane Ida. Currently, there are pieces of plywood covering part of the larger holes. This allows the homeowners to carefully navigate around the home. They have not been able to sit on their living room couch for nearly 17 months because the floor is falling in beneath it.
The couple is currently waiting on a long list, living amidst the damage from a storm that occurred a year and a half ago. To this day, they have managed to successfully navigate the weak places in the floor. It was only a matter of time before one of them misstepped or the wheelchair fell into a hole.
We are working on five other homes presently, but we could not ignore the need to at least temporarily repair the floor in this home. The repair today brought joy! The couple is happy they can once again use the couch in their living room. Happy that their daughter now feels comfortable coming to visit them. While it is by no means a permanent repair, it is one that will make their time on the waiting list safer.
