Rebuilding Together: A Family’s Journey from Devastation to Gratitude

‘We were watching and when we finally went to bed late that night, the water levels weren’t a concern. And then, in the middle of the night, the police were at our door, telling us we needed to evacuate right now. We had packed some things but thought we would have more time. It was dark out. We got our kids, some clothes and we got into our truck and the water was rising fast. We couldn’t see the road – we just followed the police cars and their lights guiding us away from our home.’

When we met with this family, they recounted their harrowing evacuation and all the things that came after. We were in their kitchen/diner that had been completely renovated after the floods with the help of Abbotsford Disaster Relief Funds (ADRF). They were still waiting on final permits so they couldn’t officially ‘move in’ but were so close. This was in June 2024, more than 2 years after the November 2021 floods devastated their neighbourhood and their home on the Sumas Prairie. 

As they shared their story, what they returned to over and over again, despite the many losses they had faced, was the loss of their daughter’s piano. A concert level pianist, she had been gifted the piano only a year before. Once they returned to the house, their daughter tried every way to salvage this deeply treasured instrument. But there was no way to fix the warping and damage caused by the floods and she had to throw it away. From everything their daughter lost, this was the hardest loss for her to bear. As her parents, they knew how hard their daughter had worked and how much the piano meant and that it would take them a long time to replace with so many other losses to address first. 

They also recounted their blessings. They were fortunate that they were able to stay with family nearby. And even though their children all had to make sacrifices due to living in a state of transition with schools and living arrangements for over 2 years, they were alive, healthy, and well. They knew they had more than most and a generous credit line on their house. 

Unfortunately, the bank froze that credit line until such time as they finished renovating the house so that it was livable again. They hadn’t received any money from government or insurance and the credit line had been their back up plan. They had to revert to maxing out credit cards, borrowing whatever they could from friends and family, doing as much work as they could themselves. It was a story we heard from so many families. 

They also identified ADRF monies as sometimes the only, often the most, funding support they had received to rebuild their houses, refurnish rooms, replace appliances, restore their homes. For this mom, there were tears in her eyes as she recounted how grateful they were for the support from ACF, from this fund, to help her and her family have a home again.

To learn more about the ADRF and its impact, click here.