VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) - One woman in Valdosta said she was brought to tears when she got the gift of a lifetime.
On Tuesday, Valdosta hosted a ribbon cutting for the woman’s newly reconstructed home.
“It’s mine. It’s mine. Lord, thank you, it’s mine," said Carrie Kelly.
Kelly is the owner a newly reconstructed home in Valdosta and she only needed one word to describe it.
“Beautiful! I love it," said Kelly.
Kelly lives alone and has been in her home for 36 years and said that it was in desperate need of repairs.
“Really dilapidated. It was just really bad. Rain coming in, you could see through the roof, kitchen cabinets were just a mess. I mean go in the kitchen, push on the wall and it would like go in," explained Kelly.
Now, after five years of trying, she had to move out of her home for a few months so reconstruction could begin.
“Whew. When I saw all the land cleared, I was like, ‘I miss my house.’ But I really didn’t, but it was hard getting out of it," said Kelly.
And now Kelly’s back to start her life in her new home.
“I was like, ‘that looks too small,’ but then when it was really finished, it was great. They gave me that first tour and all I could do was look around and cry, but it was a joy," said Kelly.
Kelly said that all of this was made possible by the Neighborhood Development Division.
“There’s no way I could have done it. I was glad that there’s a program like this to help people. It came so fast, it just blew me away," said Kelly.
But Kelly said it wasn’t always easy adjusting to life in her new home.
“It was just, and then it felt funny because I had lived in that old house so long, but when the new one came, I was like, ‘Thank you, Lord.’ So, I love it," said Kelly.
Kelly said that she is grateful to God for her new home.
“Everybody enjoy! I’m enjoying my home, hope everybody’s enjoying there’s when they get theirs," said Kelly.
Kelly said her family can enjoy her home too, but under one condition.
“As long as they go home, I’m fine with it. As long as they go home," said Kelly.
The city said that the home was a joint project, made possible by the Community Development Block Grant and the Land Bank Authority.
They are also planning to focus funds specifically on housing redevelopment next year.
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