More funding is on the way for flood victims in North Haven with local business owner Rory Cooke donating more than $11,000 to Aussie Battlers - Pay It Forward.
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Mr Cooke started the fundraising after witnessing the destruction of the March floods along his street in Gum Scrub. His business, Pane In the Glass, has donated 50 per cent of all revenue earned in May directly to help the residents of Brigadoon Caravan Park and North Haven.
The loss of so many homes to floodwater was absolutely heartbreaking, according to Mr Cooke.
"I live out of town and a lot of people on my street lost all of their possessions, whole houses went under. We were getting callouts from members of the public to clean mud or debris, when we found most people didn't have insurance it was heartbreaking," he said.
"We could see that people were living in hotel rooms and had nowhere to go, we decided to step up and help out where we could.
"Brigadoon have a lot of elderly retirees and pensioners who don't have a lot of access or ability to repair things themselves. At least this money can go towards helping them put in flooring and electrical after a disaster where they have lost everything."
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Mr Cooke said insurance companies clean up their act and do their part in the disaster clean up.
"Unfortunately insurance companies aren't willing to play ball. In the hardest hit areas the insurance is $20,000 a year to be covered for floods, it's unrealistic to think most residents can able afford that," he said.
"A flood like this could happen again and I don't have the answer to resolve this issue, but the insurance companies need to step up and help where they can, rather than adding more loop holes."
Aussie Battlers has been distributing donated and purchased items to flood victims such as children's toys and clothing, adults clothing, linen, kitchen items, furniture and other items.
Group founder Karen Sparkes said efforts are now being focused on rebuilding accommodation for North Haven residents.
They are miserable and we can see it's only just hitting them now. We need to have mental health services come through and talk to people with in home visits.
- Karen Sparkes
"We are seeing people sleeping with their bed inside their cabin and there are no internal walls. I think that we need to get more tradies in because there aren't enough around to do all the jobs," she said.
"People are panicking from week to week, not knowing if they will have accommodation. The moving around from hotel to hotel is quite stressful, particularly for children.
"People are in accommodation but they have to purchase their meals, they are going through their money quicker and they are broke.
"They are miserable and we can see it's only just hitting them now. We need to have mental health services come through and talk to people with in home visits. A phone number and being put on hold is not going to cut it, because it's really tough out there."
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