As the 2022 Hurricane Season officially begins this week, we want to share a story from an amazing homeowner who continues to rebuild from the 2021 Hurricane Season’s storm, Hurricane Ida.

We first met Ms. Lee right before the Thanksgiving holiday. Her home was not habitable due to storm damage, but she continued to live in the house as long as she could. When the damp, musty smell of mold was too much to take, or if heavy rain came and the roof started leaking, she would relocate to the home of a neighbor.

When we first met Ms. Lee, she wasn’t quite sure if she could trust these new strangers in her home. Through the actions of our team, she began to warm up to our staff and volunteers- to trust us to provide the help she needed. As the days went on, Ms. Lee started to see her future again- a future that included living back in her home.

Our team finished gutting her house on the Thanksgiving holiday in 2021. Ms. Lee was in awe that our staff and volunteers showed up to help her at all, but especially on the Thanksgiving holiday.

Ms. Lee now greets our team with smiles and stories of the next birthday or holiday she plans to host. NECHAMA and IOCC teams have recently started the repair process on her home. Drywall is currently being installed. From destruction to rebuilding, we have eased the burden of making Ms. Lee’s home habitable once again. We couldn’t be happier to be part of the process of not only helping restore trust and hope for the future but also to be a part of getting Ms. Lee one step closer to living in her home.

Check out the video below to see the team in action hanging drywall!

Are you interested in joining our team on the ground this summer? Click here to sign up today!