FLINT TOWNSHIP -- The federal government is offering some relief to homeowners and businesses affected by flood damage in early May, but some neighbors say the help is too little, too late.
Two months after floodwaters rushed through this tranquil Flint Township neighborhood, there are signs things are back to normal.
It cost Marlene Wojciechowski a lot of money to fix the damage.
"It was pouring into the windows and it flooded our basement in about 10-15 minutes,” Wojciechowski said.
She and her husband lost a furnace, air conditioner, washer and dryer, a fridge and freezer and nearly all of the family memorabilia. Over the following weeks, they relied on friends and family to help clean up and cashed out their IRA to pay for it.
"We just dipped into our savings. It was a rainy day fund, and it rained,” Wojciechowski.
The Small Business Administration is now offering homeowners like Wojciechowski loans with interest rates as low as 1.9 percent to replace or repair damaged property.
Brian Dumond-Peterson says it's not an attractive offer. He spent thousands of dollars out-of-pocket, putting in new floors after the flood and questions how much a loan can help him.
"It's like we're not really here to help you, we're here to take your money, but we're not here to help you,” Dumond-Peterson said.
Wojciechowski and Dumond-Peterson say they'd rather not take out a loan, and say they're just grateful to be able to move on with their lives.
“There's only so much time that you have to sit and fuss about something before you just gotta pick up your bootstraps and just keep going,” Dumond-Peterson said.
"Everything down there, it's just stuff. We've got each other, we go on, it's just stuff,” Wojciechowski said.
Applications for loans are available at the Flint Township Police Department or online, at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela or at www.sba.gov.
