Cheryl Oxendine

Lumberton, NC —Cheryl Oxendine had no idea that Hurricane Matthew would flood her home so quickly. “By the time the water started rising, it was too late to get out of the neighborhood,” Oxendine says. She fled to a neighbor’s home, which was dry. “We sat in the dark all night, until the storm was over.” 

The damage to Oxendine’s house left it uninhabitable. Everything had to be thrown away, and mold and mildew started growing quickly, infesting the walls. Oxendine rented a trailer for a place to stay and began seeking funding assistance to repair her home. An advertisement in the local newspaper led her to ReBuild NC.  

An assessment by ReBuild NC revealed that Oxendine’s house could not be saved, so it had to be demolished. During construction of a new house, Oxendine lived with her brother. “With financial assistance from ReBuild NC, I could contribute to the rent,” she says. “Plus, the contractor assigned to me was friendly and professional. I’m not one to back down from asking a question, and they always had answers. It was satisfying to see things get accomplished.” 

Oxendine appreciates all the features of her new house — both inside and out. “I like the dark gray stucco on the outside, which is a color I got to pick myself, and I love my master bathroom,” she says. “But what’s most amazing is how high my new home is off the ground. No more water will be coming into my house!”