NOLA groups team up to help flood victim with ALS - WAFB 9 News Baton Rouge, Louisiana News, Weather, Sports

Recovering from the August flood has been hard enough for most families, but it’s been especially hard for Julie Harvey and her husband.

Julie was diagnosed with ALS five years ago, and she is now wheelchair bound. Volunteers from Team Gleason, a New Orleans based non-profit that helps ALS victims, teamed up with the St. Bernard Project (SBP), another NOLA organization, to help repair Harvey’s home on Santa Monica Ave. in Baton Rouge Monday morning.

Viewing on a mobile device? Click here for a slideshow of the groups helping the Harveys rebuild their home.

Around 20 workers started a 24-hour period of non-stop work Monday morning. By Tuesday, Harvey and her husband should be able to move back in, and then volunteers with the SBP will complete the long-term repairs.

“He works full time and takes care of me full time, you know, when he gets home,” Julie Harvey said. “So it’s just… it’s been hard. It’s six months now and nothing’s been done. You know, we’ve just been struggling and kind of letting it sit, but I mean, I can’t wait to get back in a real bed. It means everything.”

“They did everything right, having insurance and so forth, but they needed to get into their house as quickly as possible,” said Paul Varisco, director of Team Gleason. “We’re up here to just try to expedite that build-out so that she can get in as quickly as she can.”

Volunteers expect to be completely finished with Harvey’s home in three months.

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