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“So they brought in some of their trusted contractors and we started doing inspections of the houses that had damage.”

After about three weeks of work, “I can say pretty much all of them are fixed,” Bernhardt said. About two dozen homes are involved. “We should be finishing up by the end of this week or early next week.”

West Carleton Disaster Relief voted to spend as much as $40,000 in donated money on the work. The repairs are permanent in some cases, while in many they are temporary, but still solid enough to keep out the wind, cold and especially snow through the winter.

Siding and cosmetic repairs are not included.

These are all homes that belong to the people who live in them, Bernhardt noted. “Tenants are in a really tough spot” because they can’t get insurance money directly or hire contractors.

The inspections also include some structural assessments of homes that don’t have gaping holes to plug.

Photo by Ashley Fraser / Postmedia

In some cases, “the house doesn’t seem quite right anymore: There are cracks in the drywall or the stairs aren’t straight,” and people in them wonder how safe they are and what hidden problems may need repairs.

“We are trying to provide that peace of mind to people.”

There are other new relief measures in the works. “This is going to be a tough Christmas, so we want to provide as much happiness as we can. … Decorations and trees have been donated. If you have lost all your possessions, you don’t want to be spending money (on decorating), because money is tight right now,” Bernhardt said.