WATERBURY, Vt. -
16 months after Tropical Storm Irene blasted the city, Waterbury is rebuilt. Every household in that area that asked for help, got it.
"Rebuild Waterbury" actually served more than double the number of people FEMA thought they would serve.
Rena and Richard Eizor have lived in their home for 44 years, raised three kids, and at their age, were forced to remodel their home because of Tropical Storm Irene.
"You would not have believed that it would have come back together," Richard Eizor said.
But for the Eizor's, and 103 other households it did. Waterbury was rebuilt.
"We feel proud of what we've done," Theresa Wood said, of "Rebuild Waterbury."
Theresa Wood's mother also lost nearly everything in the storm, and that's why she dedicated her time to getting people back in their homes. But she didn't work alone... it took a village. "We logged over ten thousand hours of volunteer service in the last year," Wood said.
"Rebuild Waterbury" tackled projects as big as laying new foundation and constructing new walls, and as small as trim work and flooring.
"We really appreciate everything they did for us," Rena Eizor said.
The Eizor's were displaced for three months. Water in the basement reached the ceiling and took out the whole first floor.
"We came back and found a horrible, horrible mess," Rena Eizor said.
Several families had help from FEMA, and insurance, but "Rebuild Waterbury" filled the gaps, and through mostly private donations raised close to a million dollars.
There's a closing celebration at the Crosset-Brook Middle School this Saturday from 4:30-7.
So while homes have been rebuilt, many people say Waterbury won't be whole until the state office complex is rebuilt... and so far, no work is being done there, and the legislature hasn't secured funding.
