‘A fresh start’ — grant replaces hurricane damaged home in Robeson County

March 05-- Mar. 5--ST. PAULS -- Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 heavily damaged Robert and Roberta West's home just outside of St. Pauls, which they shared with Robert's mother, Ruby West.

The Wests' homeowner insurance didn't cover flood damage, and they couldn't afford to fix it or replace it.

But on Monday, 29 months after Matthew inundated eastern North Carolina, the family moved into a new house that was paid for entirely with federal disaster assistance money through the ReBuild NC program. The old house was torn down and the new one built by contractor DSW Homes in just 15 days -- a record time for the Texas-based home building company.

"I feel like this is just a fresh start for us," Roberta West said.

While other homes have been repaired and mobile homes have been replaced through the ReBuild NC program, the Wests' house is the first stick-built home to be torn down and rebuilt, Robeson County spokeswoman Emily Jones said. To mark the occasion, a housewarming ceremony was held Monday morning that included state and local government officials, news media and others.

"Two years ago, I couldn't imagine even where I would get the money to fix my house," a tearful Roberta West said. "And now, to have a brand new house -- I just, I thank God."

She also thanked ReBuild NC, DSW and others who made it happen.

Robert West estimated that about 3-and-a-half feet of water came through their property during Matthew. It filled the crawl space and splashed into their home, which they described as a mill house that dated back to the 1950s.

With the foundation partly washed away, the house sagged in the middle in a slow collapse, the Wests said. The damaged roof had many leaks.

And something, perhaps mold left behind by the flood, was giving Roberta West repeated bouts of pneumonia, she said.

About a year after the storm, the Wests said, Robert was eating breakfast at a Hardee's in Fayetteville and saw a notice in The Fayetteville Observer about the ReBuild NC program. He immediately called Roberta, and the next day, she said, she put in their application.

Roberta West said she was the first applicant at the local disaster assistance office.

It took time for the Wests' application to be processed and the logistics worked out. Then four weeks ago, Roberta West said, Jeff Putnam of DSW Homes visited. The tear-down and rebuild soon got underway.

Putnam gave the house keys Monday to Roberta West.

The new home has 962 square feet of living space, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large open-concept kitchen-dining-living room area. The ground was built up around the house and the building was elevated on a block foundation as a precaution against future flooding, Putnam said.

It took careful planning, detailed scheduling and long hours to build the house in 15 days, Putnam said. The prior DSW record is 16 days, DSW owner Steve Mataro said.

Roberta West strongly recommended that others with hurricane damage apply for ReBuild NC assistance. Qualifying applicants can get Community Development Block Grant Disaster-Recovery funds.

Visit rebuild.nc.gov or call 211 to learn how to apply and schedule an appointment at an application center. People with losses from Hurricane Matthew are eligible; the federal government has not authorized these grants for people with damage from 2018's Hurricane Florence.

The Wests weren't sure how much their grant totaled and the state Emergency Management agency, citing privacy policies, would not say.

North Carolina has been allocated $236.5 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster-Recovery funds, the Emergency Management office said.

"Of that amount, North Carolina has allocated $180 million to housing recovery programs," it said.

As of Monday, the agency said, more than 310 applicants have had grants offered to them, totaling more than $10 million.

"Over 75 projects, including mobile home replacements and home repairs, have been completed, and at least 20 are underway today," it said. "ReBuild NC expects many more properties to be underway with construction soon."

Staff writer Paul Woolverton can be reached at [email protected] or 910-486-3512.

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