Displaced Wheatley couple longing for their dream home

By Mark Ribble

WHEATLEY — Reija and Joe Gruber took possession of their ‘dream home’ in Wheatley about three weeks before the explosion that rocked the downtown area last August.

Now approaching six months since they were evacuated, the young couple is growing frustrated by the time it has taken to see any light on the horizon.

“We’ve had many sleepless nights,” said Joe last week from their Kingsville-based rental unit. “We’re feeling completely abandoned.”

The couple spent months searching for the perfect spot to start their lives together and when they settled on the home at the corner of Julian and Foster Streets, they were welcomed into the neighbourhood with open arms.

“We moved into the perfect community there,” said Joe. “It literally blew up in our face.”

The majority of their frustration comes from the lack of communication and what they feel is a lack of support by both the province and the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.

“They both share the burden here in our eyes,” said Reija. “There’s a complete lack of communication.”

The couple watched the November 3 community meeting at the golf course via the internet and watched again on Saturday, February 5 as a virtual meeting was held between officials and residents.

It didn’t make it any easier for them, with many of their questions still unanswered.

“I feel like we’re getting talked down to like we won’t understand,” says Joe. “You’re telling us the evacuation area is safe, but also telling us we can’t go home.”

Their house is literally on the very edge of the evacuation zone, with their side and back yards not fenced off by barriers.

“If we had been facing Julian instead of Foster, we’d still be there,” says Joe.

For Reija, her frustration also comes from the funding allowed by the province and how it is being allocated.

“Our insurance company — Essex-Kent — has been great,” she said. “They paid for six months rent for us to have another place to live.”

But they cautioned that that funding will soon come to an end.

The couple was able to take advantage of the lump sum payment that everyone got from the government, but they’ve recently been denied any additional funding because they have insurance.

Joe and Reija Gruber in 2018.

At the February 5 meeting, Helen Collins, from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said that phase of funding is extra assistance for those not covered by insurance and she indicated that anyone who received insurance money would have that money deducted from any funds in the program.

“Disaster assistance programs across Canada are all set up this way,” she said.

Collins did indicate that they understand there may be some exceptions and that the program is scheduled to wrap up on March 31, so they are actively looking at that.

“We feel that’s unfair,” said Reija. “Trying to afford a mortgage and now having to pay rent has caused so much stress.”

Joe is currently in school full time and Reija’s part time nursing job comprises all of the couple’s current income.

“It just seems like there’s no end in sight,” said Reija. “Last November they told us up to six months. Well, the six months is nearly up and now they are saying another 14 weeks.”

“None of the people dealing with this has actually been affected,” said Joe, referring to the municipal and provincial officials. “They all still have their homes.”

For Joe, it has an emotional aspect as well. His mother Tammy passed away in January 2020 and they were able to sell her property to help with the purchase of their first home.

“We spent months dealing with my mom’s will,” said Joe. “We got through that and now we’re dealing with this.”

Joe says his mom’s ashes are still sitting on the mantle inside their house, waiting to be spread.

“We should have been able to do that by now,” he said.

The couple says their house has been deemed structurally sound and they are ready to go home — if not for that steel fence that surrounds their front yard.

“There is no damage,” says Reija. “It’s a matter of getting a new fridge and freezer and we’re good to

go.” They are hoping that the municipality will adjust the evacuation zone and have asked at several levels, but have been rebuffed every time.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense — and less money — to let us back in?” asked Reija.

They’d like to see each case treated individually, because they know there are others in the same boat, while neighbours less than 10 feet away have been able to stay in their homes throughout the whole situation.

For now, they just want some answers — something they don’t feel they can get at community virtual meetings. They’ve been pretty quiet up until now — in spite of their frustration — but they both say it’s time to make some noise.

“It’s time to be the squeaky wheel and maybe we’ll get some oil,” says Reija.

For Joe, he wants an end to the sleepless nights and for the municipality to care.

“I just want some help,” he says. “Or let us back into our home. This should be our choice. We are broke as broke can be.”

Another in-person community meeting is on the horizon in Wheatley in the coming weeks.

The Grubers hope that, by then, they will have more answers to their plight.