BEAUMONT, Texas — Monday morning Betty Jolivette and her family watched as their Harvey-damaged home, was crushed to make way for something new.
The walls came crashing down, and the only thing left behind from this house located in Beaumont are the memories, good and bad.
"It's like a load was just lifted off of me, and I feel light as a feather," Jolivette said.
Jolivette is the first to see the results from applying for the Texas Homeowner Assistance Program. It uses federal money to help families repair and rebuild homes affected by Harvey.
“This is for homeowners whose homes were damaged or destroyed, and we're helping them fully rebuild and be able to move back home," Brittany Eck with the Texas General Land Office said.
The state received a 1.3 Billion dollars, and Southeast Texas will see much of that.
"This was one of the most impacted areas, so we set aside more than a quarter of that available funds for this area," Eck said.
Steve Mataro owns DSW Homes and is heading up this project. He says the Jolivette Family's new home will be built to withstand future storms.
“This house will be raised out of the future flood plain by a minimum of 2 feet above that plain, so that we don't have this event again," Mataro said.
Twenty days from now, Jolivette will be handed the keys to her place. He message to the 2,000 other applicants for the program: good things come to those who wait.