Help Flood Victims Kim and Dennis Gouse

Imagine if all your stuff were destroyed by a flood and your home gutted to a mold-riddled frame with a cracked foundation;

Yep, the fridge was floating.

and you'd been trapped in the home while the floodwaters rose, and

Floodwater flows in the front door.

if, after your home were destroyed four months ago, you'd had to live in a small camper with a faulty heating system (sure, it's been kind of a mild winter thus far, but still: Pennsylvania is not the warmest state), still paying the mortgage on the destroyed house, and

This is not the Gouse's couch;
this is someone else's couch floating through the Gouse's front yard.

you'd had flood insurance on your home, plus mold insurance, plus extra flood insurance to make sure you were covered...and Allstate Insurance was giving you a lot of push-back about how much they were willing to pay out...


Kim Tallon Gouse (with whom I went to high school) and her husband, Dennis, lost their home to the crazy Pennsylvania floods of last fall (you may recall images of many parts of the state, including the entire town of Hershey, being under water).

After the Gouses struggled for months to get help from their insurance company, Allstate, the Gouse's contractor (whom they describe as an "angel") finally contacted the media. Kendra Nichols, a reporter from the local ABC News station, picked up the story.

There's some argument between FEMA and Allstate (and the contractor, too) about whether the house should be condemned and razed or whether it just has cosmetic damage and simply needs some drywall.

[Even if I hadn't worked in construction for five years, I think I'd be able to tell the difference between "condemn and raze" and "cosmetic damage."]

After the initial news story, there was a follow-up story. Allstate responded, and ABC News ran a third story on the Gouse's plight. [Click the links above to see the news stories, the destroyed home, and interviews with Kim and Dennis.]

Things may be looking up for the Gouses (as in, they will hopefully soon learn if they can rebuild their home), but they are for now still living in the trailer. Rebuilding, if it happens, will not happen overnight. They will need furniture for their home, as most of their stuff was destroyed by the flood. Also, think about how much work they must be missing, having to deal with assessors and appraisers and contractors and the insurance company all the time.

If you would like to help, you can send a check to Kim at her employer:

Kim Gouse
Home Depot Store #4138
5101 Jonestown Road
Harrisburg PA,17112

or send a check to the Gouses at:

Jack Gaughen Realtor ERA
5050 Linglestown Road
Harrrisburg,PA 17112

You can also donate via PayPal on the family's website, where you can see more pictures of the flood damage and follow their journey.

UPDATE: AS of January 27, 2012, thanks in part to media coverage, the insurance company has agreed to pay for the demolition and rebuilding of the Gouse's home. Cheers!