St. Augustine man living in tent after Hurricane Matthew taken in by family

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — It's been seven weeks since Hurricane Matthew, and many families are still rebuilding and putting their lives back together. One man is making sure his neighbors are taken care of, despite facing damage to his own home.

Greg Blaeford came home to a disaster after Hurricane Matthew.

“Opened up the doors to a foot of water coming out of my house,” Blaeford said.

He just recently moved to St. Augustine from Sweden and hadn’t been in his home for six months when it was badly damaged.

“There was about three feet of water throughout the house. All the furniture had crashed over. It was just a mess,” he said.

But on Friday, he was not working on his house but on his neighbor's home. They had minor damage compared to the toll Blaeford's house sustained. But while his neighbors are out of town for a few days, Blaeford and a couple of other neighbors are remodeling the living room.

“She’s going to be in tears when she sees it,” Blaeford said.

Despite all the work he still needs to do on his home, he said, “They saved my life.”

Blaeford had nowhere else to go and didn’t have money, so he and his dog slept in a tent.

“I got so sick from mosquitoes, and just being outside,” he said.

After camping out in a tent for about four weeks next to his unlivable home, Blaeford’s neighbors across the street brought him in and took care of him – kindness that touched Blaeford in a way he’ll never forget.

“I was very depressed, and very lonely. And just to have that compassion and to give back, I don’t think they realize how much it meant to me,” he said.

Cox Media Group