A flood took his daughter; now he’s fighting to stay in his damaged home

A flood took his daughter; now he’s fighting to stay in his damaged home

HIGHLAND FALLS, N.Y. — The last time Ed Nugent saw his daughter Pamela, she was holding their dog Minnie. Flood waters were raging outside the home. In a flash, she was swept away. For a man who just lost his wife in 2021, it was the most devastating blow imaginable. His reaction to being told by state inspectors days later that his home — and two other properties he owns on the street — was understandable given the circumstances and grief.

“I rumpled it up and threw it right in their face,” Nugent told WABC-TV, which stepped up to help by seeing if the house could be re-inspected. It was, and he was allowed to stay in it if major repairs were made — and made quickly.

WABC-TV then contacted an organization they knew could respond accordingly — The Fuller Center for Housing of Greater New York City. As fate would have it, Ed and Pamela had volunteered with The Fuller Center for years.

WABC shared this emotional story of an anguished man who now wants nothing more than to stay in his home and the nonprofit team that is working to make it happen: