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After nearly 300 days, a homecoming for family
A horrible housing situation reached a happy ending Monday for a Ramsey County sheriff’s deputy and his family. FOX 9 first told you about the family last month when they officially qualified as homeless after flooding forced them out of theirs.
(FOX 9) - A horrible housing situation reached a happy ending Monday for a Ramsey County sheriff’s deputy and his family.
FOX 9 first told you about the family last month when they officially qualified as homeless after flooding forced them out of theirs.
The family will spend the night in their home for the first time in 297 days, mostly because a generous team of contractors saw our story and stepped in.
Walking into their home to stay for the first time in 10 months, three teenagers couldn’t help but make shocked sounds.
"Oh my gosh," said one of them.
"And the one who said that said to us recently, ‘I don't think we're ever going to get back in our home,’" said the mother, Angela.
We’re not using their last name at their request.
The teen’s turnabout came quickly.
The place looks more or less like any other house now, with new kitchen appliances, vinyl plank flooring, and enough space for 13-year-old Talia to navigate in a wheelchair.
But just a month ago, it was bare bones.
Hundreds of gallons of water had flowed like a geyser out of a bathroom and throughout the main floor and basement.
They struggled to get their insurance company to pay in full for repairs and living expenses as they hopped from hotel to hotel to a family member’s basement and back to a hotel.
When we reported their story, the team at Bedrock Restoration saw it and offered to help.
"You know, we do this all day, every day, but this one just had a little extra to it," said the company’s owner, Dan Oppedisano. "And, you know, getting to meet Angela and her family was pretty special for us."
A month later, they finished up the work and the family went home for the first time since November.
"The first day we can put a smile back on our kids face," Angela said. "And we get to be back in here and they can sleep in their own beds."
They still need to check out of the last hotel and they haven’t resolved things with the insurance company yet, but those are worries for later.
For now, it’s all about the joy of homecoming.
One big change here now that they’re home is that they’re getting a new Christmas tree and it’s going up as soon as possible.
The kids missed out on a lot of holidays, so they plan to take extra time to count their blessings.