Saturday marked an emotional new beginning for flood victim, Carrolyn Lewis of South Haven, as volunteers with One Brick in Chicago helped move her back into her home.  

Lewis suffered extensive damage to her home from the September 2008 flood. Her crawl space filled with water and came up into the main floor enough to destroy the floor from underneath.  

After suffering for months with what she described as “a continuous case of the flu,” Lewis discovered dangerous black mold had crept all the way to the second story inside the walls and was making her ill.  In the midst of all of this she lost her job. When all seemed lost, she was approved for home restoration assistance from Lakeshore Area Regional Recovery of Indiana, LARRI. She moved out of her home in June so work could begin. The entire downstairs and part of the upstairs was gutted and restored through the efforts of LARRI.  

On move-in day, as Lewis walked from room to room relishing the aroma of new paint and lumber, the sounds of construction workers, Colin Stewart and Bruce Vander Laan, outside finishing the siding were music to her ears. 

Lewis said, “When I walk through it, I feel the love that everyone put into it. They made it back into a home again.” 

She was quick to mention the dedication of LARRI site supervisor, Stewart, who spent his Thanksgiving Day working on her house by himself. 

There were several volunteer groups that had a hand in restoring Lewis’s home including The Brethren Disaster Ministries, The United Way, United Methodist Church of Valparaiso and One Brick of Chicago.  

While talking with Lewis on Saturday, Peter, a volunteer with One Brick said, “Some of us can give a couple hours, some a day, a few days or a week. But when you add it all up this is what you get.”