South Bend flood victims face a painful question: How do we move on?

Aug. 28--SOUTH BEND -- The waters have receded, but the flood isn't gone.

For hundreds of area residents, the effects of last week's historic rainfall and following flood will be part of their lives for months, even years to come.

Valuables and mementos are lost, walls and floors are torn out of homes, a musty smell still lingers in the air, and many are facing this without the help of insurance.

The initial shock is starting to fade, but now residents face an unnerving question: How do we move on?

Gary Stephenson was checking on the crawl space of his Pearl Street home on South Bend's south side in the early hours Aug. 16 when he heard the sudden sound of gushing water.

Overflowing water from a nearby creek rose above the foundation of the house, breaking through and filling the crawl space in seconds.

"Before we knew it we had 6 inches of water throughout the house," he said.

Stephenson and his husband scrambled to get things off the floor as the water continued to rise into the house, but quickly realized they needed to leave. They grabbed some clothes and their cat and attempted to drive out of the neighborhood. They only made it to the end of their driveway before water was flooding the car.

The Stephensons were among many who had to be rescued from their homes by boat that day.

Walking down Pearl Street a week later, the neighborhood is dotted with dumpsters piled high with furniture, drywall and personal items people were forced to throw away.

Stephenson can only think of the present. Focus on the immediate task, he said, because stopping to think of the road ahead is too overwhelming.

Streaks of dried mud cover the warped wood floor of his home, something that will have to be replaced along with segments of the wall. Wet, ruined furniture waits in the living room to be removed and a dehumidifier buzzes, still drying out the home a week later.

There's just too much unknown at this time, said Stephenson, who is now staying with family because of the condition of his house.

Stephenson's neighbors are also struggling with the future.

"It makes your mind numb," Max Merrill said sitting in his garage, watching as family helped him go through the last of his possessions.

In the rest of Merrill's home on Pearl Street, walls and floors were being ripped out by volunteers from the Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief. The group was just one of many outside organizations that added to the local volunteers' efforts to help those affected by the flooding.

Both Merrill and Stephenson lost almost everything in their home.

And the two families didn't have flood insurance, an unfortunate theme among many of those affected here.

"We never needed it before," Stephenson said. "Nobody did."

Officials called the rainfall a once-in-a-millennium occurrence. No matter how prepared the county and city were there was no way to handle with any system the amount of water that fell on the area, Eric Horvath, Public Works director, said.

That doesn't ease the emotions of those who lost everything, though. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg said it well at a news conference last week: "The days coming ahead are where frustration is really going to set in."

It's unclear what or how much aid that the state and federal government will ultimately offer. On Friday, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's office said he has requested U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans for St. Joseph County. If approved, residents, businesses and certain nonprofit organizations affected would be eligible to apply.

There's a long road ahead for everyone, said John Antonucci, director of the St. Joseph County Emergency Management Agency. He and other officials estimate that the cleanup could stretch anywhere from six to 18 months.

Each day, more people report flood damage, he said, and the number is pushing toward a thousand homes affected.

There are about 100 homes severely damaged. Many have to have walls and flooring torn out and some will even be completely demolished.

With so many affected, and some hard to find, the American Red Cross has turned its focus on canvassing neighborhoods to provide information on available assistance, Sue Gulley, executive director of the northern Indiana region, said.

And the Red Cross will be involved with many of the worst-affected residents long term, Gulley said. In her 10 years working for the Red Cross, she said, it's knowing there's support that helps people get by.

"These are the things that help people move on," Gulley said. "If they feel they don't have resources, this is so much tougher."

Although there is community support, it can't completely erase the emotional and financial stress of those affected.

Now looking at empty homes and dumpsters full of their possessions, Merrill and Stephenson will soon have to decide what to do with their homes.

Merrill did not have flood coverage, but said he was told by the insurance company he would get some money from his policy. Because he lost everything, he said, he expects that the amount won't come close to covering the repairs to his home, let alone replacing all of his furniture and appliances.

Some homeowners have already spent a few thousand dollars gutting their houses and removing furniture, but it's too early for most to know the total cost they will bear.

Stephenson said he is getting nothing from insurance. Everything for him and his husband will come from savings or the generosity of others. They have to do something with their homes, though.

"We have no choice, we can't just walk away," Stephenson said.

Both families said they are now deciding between selling the places they called home for decades or fixing them. No matter what choice they make, it's starting over that is weighing on them the most.

Merrill is 77 and hasn't had a mortgage in 25 years. At his age, he said, he would hate to go back to that.

At 66, Stephenson had the same sentiment. All he could say was check back in a year to see how he moved on.

"The hardest part," he said, "is losing everything that you've worked for."

lwright@SBTinfo.com

574-235-6324

@LWrightSBT

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