• UPDATE BELOW •
So, its been a daunting process. Its absurd the amount of mud and damage occurred. Its amazing the support Libre and Pam are getting in both financial and in person.
Lots of donations have been made thru Venmo (seems lots of folks think GoFundMe takes a cut from the donation, but I dont belive that is true. After someone sets up their donation, GoFundMe askes for a tip for their team and thats how they get paid. Its on top of the donation.) Regardless, every little bit(a lots of them) helps greatly. Libre and Pam want to make sure everyone knows they are extremely grateful. When they eventually get a chance to settle down, you'll surely hear from them full of gratitude.
As mentioned the help has been immense. Most of guts of the house have been removed from the entire downstairs to the bottom half of the entire upstairs. All the sheet rock, insulation, furniture, flooring, all they personal possessions (salvagable or not), and all the mud (or at least most of it).
Still no real word from support like insurance, FEMA, etc. That will be a long process.
Again, thanks for your help, with both donations and spreading the word.
Here are some new pics...
• ORIGINAL INFO BELOW •
Two of my favorite people in the world have endured a great heartbreak as their a once beautiful riverfront home was engulfed by the Swananoa River. Now that the flooding has receded they are faced with a long uninsured battle to get to any point of normalcy.
You become so overwhelmed with emotion by the sheer destruction of their home.
The actual house is still there, but everything inside may be a loss, as the flood waters swallowed the entire 1st floor (river side) and made its way half way up the main floor (mountain side) with an estimated rise of more than 30' with the bulk of it in less that an hour.
Absolutely traumatizing.
We have been digging their lives out of the mud since it happened last week. Everything from their bed and furniture, their clothing, all the nick nacks from 50+ years of life, every cabinet, closet, and corridor was filled with the storm's mud. Fortunately, these are all just things and luckily they were able to save themselves. Nonetheless, they are now faced with an uphill battle to recover and salvage anything from their life before last week's devastation.
Like most folks in the highlands, there were given the chance to wave the exorbitant cost of flood insurance and are now faced with potentially a total loss.
To add insult to injury, their endeavors in SC, The Music Camp (a music and wedding venue) also received extensive flood damage being surrounded by the Pacolet River. And to make things worse, they were robbed the day prior to the storm. Whatever the theives left was affected by this storm.
Its a shame and a travesty and yet, even through the quagmire, Libre and Pam hold their heads high with a smile and an occasional tear.
If you can donate, every little bit helps. Although large donations are welcome, a lot of a little makes a lot. Many hands make light work.
For transparency sake if you dont know me, I am JasonG aka Jason Guadagnino; Libre's and Pam's brother from another mother, best man at their wedding and part time co-manager in some quite ridiculous parts of life. I have the time, sense, and ability to get this done, so here we are.
Libre and Pam send their gratitude, as do I.
Please feel free to share this with the world.
Perhaps, we as a community can make a real difference in the lives of our loved ones.
Bless!
Organizer and beneficiary
Libre Brousseau
Beneficiary