While many of us may be thinking about taking a vacation, Diane Dunton Bruni decided to visit the area of Black Mountain, North Carolina with a team of 16 other people as part of the Fuller Center for Housing Disaster Rebuilders.
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| Diane Dunton Bruni of Windham, in orange, spent one week in North Carolina with the Fuller Center Disaster Rebuilders to help residents there recover from Hurricane Helene. She was part of a group of 16 other volunteers who worked on rebuilding homes for families there to move back into. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
This part of the organization reaches out to areas hit by natural disasters and started when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region.
“Although I have been part of many cycling rides raising funds for the Fuller Center for Housing, this is the first time I spent a week with the Disaster Recovery Team,” says Dunton Bruni. “A cycling friend of mine, Nancy Fish, pulled together a team from her church along with fellow cyclists to work in the area of Black Mountain. This area was hit so hard by Hurricane Helene. Three days of rain and then 12 inches more when the hurricane hit causing mudslides, raging creaks overflowing their banks and ultimately a loss of at least 100 lives.”
Dunton Bruni was in North Carolina from April 12 through April 18 and was in a team that worked to rebuild three homes.
“I learned how to insulate a home, replace particle board and install vinyl siding. I met the homeowners and prayed with them,” she says. “I met the young leaders - ours were James, Caleb, and Jacob - who were only in their 20s and had five or six houses they were managing. This is under the direction of Tony and Aaron who head up the efforts in the area.”
The Fuller Center for Housing Disaster Rebuilders are working on 22 homes in the area.
“These are the most vulnerable people who do not have the resources to rebuild,” says Dunton Bruni. “I painted, insulated a home, reframed windows and put up siding. Other than painting, I had never done the other tasks before, and I am not sure I want to do insulation again,” she said.
The team was up by 6 a.m. each day, having breakfast and then sharing a devotion and information about their worksite.
“We were split up and at the worksites by 8 in the morning,” says Dunton Bruni. “It was hard work, but we met the families whose homes were so badly damaged. We listened to their stories, and we gave them hope. One family crawled to their roof and stood on it as they watched their car port and cars swept away. Their home was completely damaged inside. The second home was again completely damaged; the owner tried to stop the raging waters flooding into her home to no avail. The third home was a man who lived in the basement and his sons lived above. When the waters came rushing in, the man was trapped; his sons had to break a window to get him out.”
A street that the Fuller Center Disaster Recovery teams are working on is one in which every home was damaged.
“Markings for safety or lives lost are still on the doors,” says Dunton Bruni. “A car sits on the street full of mud. A hole is seen where a family broke through the attic. The waters rose to the eaves in this neighborhood.”
During her time in North Carolina, the team and Dunton Bruni were close to finishing two homes for families to move back into and started work on three others.
While the tasks were difficult, Dunton Bruni says that hearing the stories and seeing the tragedy of the area was more difficult.
“They need more help,” she says. “Teams have been coming every week since September and there is still so much work.”
Even through all the tragedy and disaster, Dunton Bruni still kept a positive view.
“The area is beautiful,” she says. “Flowers are blooming, and the mountains remind me of our mountains. The people were amazing and the team I worked with connected deeply in God's work we were doing to serve others.”
Disaster can hit at anytime and anywhere, says Dunton Bruni.
“We cannot forget the people who need us,” she says. “They are survivors, but they need our help. They need hope.”
As Board Chair and President of the Sebago Lake Region Fuller Center for Housing, Dunton Bruni says that she is committed to keep serving others and giving them hope. She said the hurricane damage in North Carolina is sad but efforts to help the survivors are inspiring.
“I am exhausted, but I learned skills that I can use with our families here in Maine,” Dunton Bruni said. “I feel blessed to have been physically and emotionally able to help these families and give them hope.”
Dunton Bruni says you can support the local effort to help repair homes for seniors and veterans by visiting sebagofullerhousing.org. For more details or if you are interested in working with the Fuller Center for Housing Disaster Rebuilders, please visit the Fuller Center Disaster Rebuilders website, or contact Diane Dunton Bruni at prdunton@msn.com. <
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