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Hurricane Irma: Churches team up to help restore woman's Jacksonville home

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two churches are helping to restore a local woman’s home.

Hurricane Irma nearly destroyed Velma Aiken's home when chest-high floodwater swept through it.

Aiken was able to escape with her life, but barely anything else.

Aiken spent the past several months in a small, tattered room she shared with her son.

The rest of the house remained uninhabitable.

That’s when Riverside Presbyterian Church and Fairfield Presbyterian Church heard her story and stepped in to help.

They replaced Aiken’s dry wall and flooring.

Action News Jax was there when Aiken saw the new work.

In tears, she said, “It’s unexplainable. And my house. This is just the first house I can see myself living in like I used to live.”

Aiken has lived there for the past 25 years.

She is still waiting to replace a large majority of her belongings.