CHELSEA, Okla. — The Wilson family of six built their home themselves, with cash, six years ago. They spent years adding on as funds were available.
Then, at the end of May, 18 inches of water flooded the property.
"We lived without running water and electricity while we paid for those things and so... to leave that... there's been times where we're like "why did we do it?" Nadia Wilson said.
The family also tries to create their own food supply. But when they returned, the majority of the garden had washed away.
"It's a death of a piece of us because we're now having to.. things that we're so passionate about: living debt free, and being the change you want to see in the world... we're having to set a lot of that aside in the interest of our children," Wilson said.
Volunteers helped the Wilsons gut the house for free, saving them thousands. Now Cameron Wilson wants to return the favor when he can, even in places that aren't home.
"It's Houston, Texas or even Louisiana. I just didn't have any connection. Now I definitely know how it feels and I would like to help people out in their time of need," he said.
Without the funds to protect the area from floods, the family will now take out a mortgage for the first time.
"Our family's getting older. The kids need space. We're building a house. And we're going to pay the bank their interest to finance our new home," Cameron Wilson said.
The family is waiting to hear back about flood insurance. For more information about how you can help, click here.
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