“Russ was initially very hesitant to let us come into his home and start tearing things apart,” said Harv Klaver, a World Renew Disaster Response Services (DRS) construction volunteer. “He was very sentimental about his [family] home.”
Russ was one of many residents hard hit by June 2015 flooding in the town of Lusk, Wyoming, located near the Wyoming-Nebraska border. Heavy rainfall in the area caused flooding that left basements full of water, flipped over cars, and even led to the collapse of a local highway overpass. Some residents, like Russ, were forced to leave their homes until they could find help with rebuilding.
Over a four-week period in September and October, World Renew volunteers worked on around 16 homes in Lusk and nearby Manville, joining in efforts with volunteers from Habitat for Humanity and several other non-profits. World Renew DRS brought four teams into the area that each served for a week, as well as individual volunteers from several different states as far away as Minnesota and California.
These volunteers helped homeowners rebuild and prepare their houses for the winter. Many basements and main floors below flood level needed significant repair, including replacing drywall, insulation, and repainting. Teams also worked on a variety of other projects, from installing kitchen cabinets to grouting tiles in bathrooms to doing electrical work.
Two local churches, one Baptist and one Assemblies of God, hosted the World Renew volunteers, who not only repaired houses during their time in Lusk, but also built relationships in the community and with those they were serving.
Take Russ, for example, who despite his initial reluctance welcomed the teams into his home and helped them wherever he could, according to Klaver, who served as
a construction supervisor in Lusk along with his wife Verla. World Renew teams replaced all eight windows in Russ’s house and were able to help with adding insulation, taping, mudding, texturing and painting the walls.
“Russ was all smiles and would talk our leg off when we came to check on the progress [of his house],” said Klaver. “He became good friends with the teams who worked there, and I believe he felt comfortable with the level of expertise we showed in working on his house.”
For residents like Russ, repairing a family home is a significant step on the road to recovery from a natural disaster. Though recovery involves far more than simply fixing a building, repair work on homes can foster changed attitudes for homeowners and brings hope for continued progress in the community.
Photo above: Russ (L) with World Renew DRS volunteer Harv Klaver (R.)