SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — With a huge smile plastered on her face, 89-year-old Elaine Jefferson watched her home get gutted down to the studs.
“It’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me," Jefferson said. "It’s unbelievable that something like this is happening to us.”
Elaine has lived in Emerald Hills for 50 years, but everything changed in one day.
On Jan. 22, rainwater filled her home: leaving soggy walls, a leaky ceiling, and damp furniture. Jefferson, her daughter, and her two grandchildren slept there for months afterwards.
“It was kind of terrible, but we didn’t have no place else to go, so we had to live here,” Jefferson said.
Victor Diaz with the Carpenters Union Local 619 said it was not a safe living environment.
“We open up some houses; the insulation is all wet and starts getting mold," Diaz said. "So you have to act fast.”
His team agreed to come in on their day off and build Elaine a new home for free.
“We work here, we live here, we grew up here. These people are our neighbors,” Diaz said.
The union has done this for more than 30 flood victims, rebuilding their lives with tools many people don't have: kindness, compassion, and power drills.
“I’m so happy and proud I don’t know what to do,” Jefferson said.
Once more, everything changed in one day. Now, Jefferson can sleep comfortably in a home she and her family deserve.
