Woman with Four Kids Loses Everything

Rockford, Illinois- The hours of rain proved to be too much for residents on the Southeast side of Rockford, including the Knight family. "We had water coming in the front, the back, the side, and the windows," says Tonya Knight. "Our animals were dying in the basement, we couldn`t get them out and we had to hear them die; my children had to hear that." Tonya has four children raging in age from one to twelve years old. They were living in a house on 7th avenue. "We just moved here from Elgin. Big dreams, big expectations, finally got out of low income housing, and the rain started coming in and the creek overflowed and in a matter of minutes we were trapped in our house, says Tonya. "The water was up to my chin when I tried to get out, so I knew we couldn`t get out kids out. Finally after hours and hours the firemen came in the house and got us here." The Knights know no one in Rockford. Tonya says the Red Cross has been a savior. They have a roof over their heads, clothes, and food. But she doesn`t know what will happen with her house. "I called the insurance company right away to make a claim because I pay my flood insurance," says Tonya. "They said `Unless you have a $5,000 deductible, we can`t talk to you,` and hung up on me." So the Knights are only left with questions. "Where am I going to end up? Where can we go? What about my kids?" asks Tonya. Right now, Tonya is worrying about getting to work tomorrow, getting her kids to school, and what`s in store for her new home.