How does Port aux Basques move on from Fiona? Together, says mayor
'We'll only be stronger if we stay together,' says Brian Button
As Port aux Basques marked the anniversary Sunday of last year's devastating post-tropical storm, the town's mayor says residents supporting each other will be key for the town to move past Fiona's impact.
Speaking at a ceremony Sunday marking the anniversary, Mayor Brian Button thanked the several mental health counsellors in attendance for their help over the last year. In the past year, Button told the crowd, he's had to ask for help himself.
"It's been a tough year, there's no doubt.… All of our communities have suffered together. Have suffered, lost in some way, shape or form," Button said.
"Don't be afraid to ask for help. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, it's a a sign of strength.… I'm not ashamed to tell you that I've asked for help, and nor should you be if you need to go get it."
Fiona's impact is still felt each day on Newfoundland's southwest coast, but many residents who spoke with CBC News say a strong support network throughout their communities is making things easier.
Button said Monday that kind of support will be critical as the community continues to move forward.
"We can all criticize each other, we can all be down on another, we can all talk about one another, but it won't solve anything. We'll only be stronger if we stay together, work together and be there for each other," he said.
"There's no textbook to all of this. There's no right way, there's no wrong way, there's just a way that we just try to come together and try to conquer.… We will go forward. We will get there. We will go forward, for sure."
What's next?
But for many in the community, looking forward is much easier said than done — especially when they're so close to the ocean.
Port aux Basques resident Denise Anderson, who lost her home to Fiona's fury, said she visits her old land "more than I should."
"I always felt that I was stronger than anything. But I don't feel strong anymore. I'm known as the fixer in the family … and I just don't feel that I can always be there for people now. It's just affected me that badly," Anderson said.
"I don't want nothing to do with the water."
Some who chose to stay are also having trouble finding a place to live. Many who lost their houses are still homeless, and insurances haven't been paid out.
Calvin Bragg and his wife, Dorothy, lost their home of 49 years. They bounced around the province, with stops in Stephenville, other surrounding communities and even as far as St. John's, before they were able to find a new place to live nine months later.
The number of homes in Port aux Basques will also continue to shrink into the spring, as more than 50 homes considered too close to the water will be torn down to expand the town's coastline and create more of a buffer zone for future storms.
"So many people displaced at one time, the housing is not here to accommodate so many people. It's such a long process to get somewhere. To get in somewhere that's satisfactory. It's not good," Calvin Bragg said.
"It took us almost a year to get in somewhere.… You can't put people on the streets."
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With files from Danny Arsenault and CBC Newfoundland Morning
