ARCADIA, Fla. — A couple in Arcadia will soon get the keys to a brand-new home after Hurricane Ian severely damaged their old home almost two years ago.
"We are very blessed to have this," said Arcadia resident Willie Hodges. "Like I said, this is a community thing. I'm glad the community [came] in.”
Willie and Ruby lived in their old home for more than two decades.
However, severe flooding caused by Hurricane Ian, including around the Peace River, did significant damage.
"We were staying in that living room," Willie told Arcadia Community Correspondent Victoria Scott. "That's the only thing we had to live in."
Willie said me the place was infested with mold.
It was clear the couple needed a new home.
"I got them, then they were referred to Habitat [for Humanity], and when that funding went low, we went to Florida Rebuild," said Senior Service Manager of Senior Friendship Centers' DeSoto County Diana Harms.
Thanks to Senior Friendship Centers, the couple won't have to worry about buying new furniture or appliances, either.
"We did bedding, linens, appliances, mattresses, stuff that we had bought for them," Harms told Scott.
Now, it's just a waiting game. Willie and Ruby's new home is almost complete.
"We're just like a kid in the candy store just hoping to get in so we can see it," Willie said.
