Petra Groten’s acceptance point reopened after the flood

“Everything is new, I really like it,” says Petra Groten happily, while presenting her completely renovated shop in downtown Stolberg: modern floor tiles, LED spotlights, completely new furniture. Many former shops next door look different: bare rooms, damp walls. The 58-year-old has managed to do what many people in parts of North Rhine-Westphalia still have to do: rebuild their livelihoods after the devastating floods of last summer.

worry about the house

Stolberg on July 14, 2021: Heavy rainfall has been announced for the region. It is not possible to predict exactly which places will be most affected. In the afternoon, Petra Groten decides to close her WestLotto acceptance point. “The water was a few centimeters high in the city, but it didn’t look too bad. I was more worried about my own home, so I went home,” she recalls.

Destroyed business

The next morning, she reads numerous messages from colleagues in nearby shops on her cell phone: She should stay at home, the city center is flooded. Stolberg is one of the places that are particularly badly affected by the water masses. Petra Groten sees on videos that are sent to her that her business is also affected: “The water was 1.60 meters high, we measured it afterwards. Everything was destroyed. Products, furniture, walls – everything. I still cry when I think about it.” The destruction is still visible in Stolberg’s city center many months later.

solidarity

Clean-up begins in the days after the storm. In addition, there is a great deal of uncertainty: How should the business continue? “The only thing that helped during this phase was the great solidarity among each other,” reports the shop owner: “All the shops around us were affected, but we had many helpers and were provided with food, which helped us despite the shock a little courage.” It later becomes clear: the need for renovation is enormous. Water has penetrated the walls and ceiling. “Giving up was never an option for me. My business is my life,” she says.

willingness to help

During the reconstruction, Petra Groten experiences a wave of willingness to help: from the landlord, from suppliers and cooperation partners. They all help in the long way. And at the beginning of the year it was done: your WestLotto acceptance point celebrated the reopening with other shops in downtown Stolberg. “Customers were delighted that they can now buy stamps or hand in their lottery tickets on site again. It’s a great feeling that we can be such a long-awaited ray of hope for many Stolbergers with our business here.”

Long way

Even if the reopening is a great success – there is still a long way to go to normality: “We used to have a lot of walk-in customers from the city administration and the shopping center. But they are still closed. And there is no telling when things will be like they used to be here again.” And so it is for Petra Groten and for the city of Stolberg as a whole: there are still nine months after the flood

Rays of hope that give reason for hope. But it will be some time before life goes back to how it was before the flood.

To a lot

In the WestLotto YouTube format “Auf ein Los” various operators of acceptance points in North Rhine-Westphalia are visited. Part two: Petra Groten with her newly renovated shop in Stolberg.