Rebuilding Together: Embracing Help and Hope After the Floods

“It’s hard to ask for help. We’re used to giving it, not asking for it.” 

We heard this so often when talking to local families who had received Abbotsford Disaster Relief Funds (ADRF). When they recounted having to ask for help, that was when the tears first started. One family we visited lived on the same property as their business. For them, the priority was first their neighbours, then their business. Their home was secondary. They lived just across the road from a small stream that was part of the Vedder Canal system.

“We were watching the water levels rise. We’d seen it come up before but the water was higher now and the rain kept falling. At first, we wanted to help our neighbours evacuate. They were closer [to the stream] and more likely to flood. We got them out and started working on the [business] building. We were getting whatever tools and vehicles we could to higher ground. It was like a race with the water – once it came across the road, it was moving faster than we thought possible. At that point, we just had to leave everything behind and get out.”

This family had to first reinforce the mountainside behind them. That fortification, to manage mudslides, was critical before they could start rebuilding the house. They were lucky that they had family nearby to stay with. As the waters receded, their focus was on salvaging what they could of the business and taking on work because they needed that source of income. They decided the house could wait. 

“One of the best things is the support we received. People were hiring us and that allowed us to keep our people employed and to pay for basic necessities we needed.” They told us about how neighbours helped neighbours and people would come around with grocery gift cards and food – that kindness helped sustain them through the darkest times. And they felt they were luckier than most because they had family who hadn’t lost their homes to the floods and could house them for as long as they needed. 

As this proud grandma showed me around their new house, little ones were running about. They chose not to rebuild a basement, instead building on a ground level concrete slab. In essence, they built a rancher over the old foot print of the home. They didn’t need a house as big as they once had, now that their children had their own families. Instead, they re-built their home smaller, to suit retirement, with a loft play space for their grandchildren. This home was furnished and appliances replaced with ADRF funds. They would not have been able to re-build and set up their home as quickly as they did, without ADRF support. In fact, these monies remain the biggest and most generous funding they’ve received to help recover what they lost during the floods. 

‘We can’t thank the Foundation enough, or Gateway [Church] for all the support we received. It was really hard for us to ask for help and then accept it, but it has made all the difference to our family.’

As we wiped away tears together, she kept thanking us. At ACF, we’re just grateful that our donors made these kinds of stories possible. ADRF has truly spread kindness to so many families, farmers, businesses, in our community. We hope the stories we’ve shared give you some insight on the impact you’ve made in Abbotsford.

To learn more about the ADRF and it’s impact, click here.