By Parker McKenzie
Flooding throughout the Dandenong Ranges and the foothills has caused havoc for residents over the past two weeks, although for residents like Lynette Hayhurst, the real challenge is just beginning.
On Wednesday 26 October, heavy rain flooded her house for the fourth time since she moved into accommodation in The Basin.
“I was snuggling into bed thinking I’m glad I’m nice and warm when around halfway through the night I started to smell something,” she said.
“When I got up and started to pull things away, I could see the water was coming from under the ground through the concrete underneath.”
When her residence was previously damaged by flooding, the owner of the rental bought in plumbers to try and fix the issue to no avail.
Ms Hayhurst, who works in emergency teaching, said she knew as soon as she woke up the next morning she would have to move.
“I could never stay, the smell was terrible because the water had destroyed the carpet in every room,” she said.
“To be honest I cried, I was just so overwhelmed and knew I had to move, I couldn’t even stay here today.”
She immediately started reaching out to friends and people in the community to ask if there was anyone she could stay with temporarily, before receiving a lifeline at 4.30pm when a friend suggested she contact someone nearby in Boronia.
“I didn’t know, I’d never heard of them. Really I was this complete stranger calling them and saying hi, can I come to stay with you?” Ms Hayhurst said.
“Just knowing that I had a warm bed to sleep in, you are just focused on the basics when you have nowhere to put your head.”
Friends helped her pack up her belonging in a single day and she was able to borrow storage for the month of November. Five or six days with someone who has offered their home to someone in need was a gift to Ms Hayhurst, but a new challenge is hanging over the horizon.
She said all she is thinking about now is finding a temporary place to stay because of the difficulty of finding a permanent home.
“I’m on the Victorian Housing Register for people on low incomes, I’ve been on it for nine years, I’m not joking,” she said.
“I rang them because I thought maybe they could escalate my status on it and find me somewhere considering I’ve been flooded out. They told me I can apply for that, I asked if it’ll be within six months I’ll be able to find a place and they told me it’s a very long list.”
After speaking to a state government representative, Ms Hayhurst said she has secured 10 days of emergency accommodation and despite her struggles, the kindness people have shown has been a light in the darkness.
“If I didn’t have the close friends and strangers treating me like this, you’d throw your hands up in the air and say I can’t do it,” Ms Hayhurst said.
“We’re not meant to be on our own, especially in these difficult times.”
