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9th June 2011 by Nathaniel Brown

Nora is 66-years-old. She was born in the Czech Republic but has been living in Brisbane for 27 years. She has two adult children and lives by herself in a house she owns. 12 months ago she was approaching pension age so she decided to replace all the major items in her house: TV, fridge, lounge, washing machine etc. A busy life of working and raising children was about to be replaced with a quiet, simple life of retirement.

January 11, 2011 changed everything

Along with her neighbours Nora was evacuated from her home and in a matter of hours everything she owned was consumed by rising floodwaters. Friends had placed valuable items in their roof space but the 6m high floodwaters found it all.

Nora returned days later, opened her front door and realised the extent of her loss. Coming to grips with losing everything would not be easy: the culmination of her life's savings rendered worthless by the mud that left nothing useable. The news got worse as Nora realised her insurance company was only going to give her $15,000 ... an amount that would barely replace her kitchen.

Three months later, Nora is still bunking at a friend's place and it's clear that "life as normal" is a long way off. While appreciative of the army of volunteers who came through in the two weeks following the floods, it's evident that the long haul of recovery is lonely road, only interrupted by passers-by, like me, who stop by and help out for a day then get on with life.

Although I felt insignificant in the big picture, it meant the world to Nora that someone would give up their Saturday to help her out and listen to her story. Somewhere between the second and third teary hugs, I realised that sometimes it's just a matter of being there.

I can't really imagine what it means to lose everything but on this particular Saturday I was given a glimpse into the personal grief that a person lives through. It was definitely a tough day but not without hope and one of the clearest signs of hope came in the form of Reiley, Rachael, Sarah and Nina.

These four young people from Streetlevel Brisbane have each been empty handed and homeless at some stage of their lives – they know what it is like to have nothing. Yet most Saturday mornings since January they've been out helping with flood relief: cleaning out Nora's home and dozens just like hers. They don't offer construction skills or insurance consultancy; they simply turn up with willing hands and listening ears.

These guys are setting the standard and the challenge is set. We aren't all in a position to help out with flood relief but our communities are full of Nora's and there are no excuses for inaction and apathy. The Salvation Army can never rest on the efforts of yesterday, we are needed today.

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