Neighbors are trying to move forward amid all the devastation on a stretch of Cherry Street in Naugatuck.
“My bedroom, my wife's office, my office space, all of our storage was in the basement so all gone. Like yesterday we threw half of my life away,” Erik Swinyer, of Naugatuck, said.
A dozen homes were flooded during historic rainfall a week ago.
“You take your time to cry, take your time hug each other. As a team we're gonna get through this,” Swinyer said.
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While the damage left behind is overwhelming, there’s been a rush of support.
“We're removing drywall, wet couches, all sorts of stuff like that from homes,” Peter Lindner of Team Rubicon, said.
Volunteers from an organization called Team Rubicon were hard at work on Sunday.
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They are part of a veteran-led humanitarian organization that helps communities around the world during and after disasters.
“That's hard on homeowners and our volunteers, but it also brings the community together after things like this, right? And we often say we're built to serve,” Lindner said.
The group is working at several homes and is eyeing to help about 20 others.
They are pitching in on the recovery in other hard-hits areas including Oxford, Southbury, and Newtown.
“Everything we had downstairs, the basement, most of the things, everything was pretty much destroyed,” Tammy Grant, of Naugatuck, said.
For those who lost so much, they’re giving thanks for the help.
“I'm very grateful. No words can say, it's I mean, if we had to do all this by ourselves, it would take a very long time and even more stressful for us,” Grant said.
