I am Debra, and I am asking for help after the catastrophic September 13th flood in Westport damaged my home and completely destroyed the finished three-room rental unit in my lower level. We had 7 inches of rain in just 4 hours, and the brook bordering my property engulfed my home on all sides. In the 28 years I have lived here, I had never experienced any water intrusion, so this has been both shocking and overwhelming. I am 70 years old and trying to manage this on my own, and it has become a nightmare and an expense I was not prepared for.

The lower-level unit had to be stripped all the way down to the concrete walls and floors. I now need to replace nearly everything, including Sheetrock, flooring, electrical, plumbing with an ejector pump, cabinets, appliances, countertops, framing, painting, trim, doors, AC, baseboard radiators, and furniture. One photo of the living room with the sofa was taken after two feet of water had been drained over a two-day period, and the photo of the walls and flooring shows the living room afterward. I wanted to include that context so people can understand the true magnitude of the damage. This was a furnished rental unit that helped supplement my income, and restoring it is especially important because health issues have limited my ability to work at full capacity.

Any support will help me begin putting my home back together and restore the rental unit to its original condition. If you are able to donate or share my fundraiser, I would be deeply grateful. Your kindness and support would mean so much as I work to recover from this flood and rebuild what was lost.