Opelousas, La- This is a moment James Roberts thought he would never see.
"Mr.James, what does this day mean to you? How do you feel right now? " asked KATC's Paris Flannigan.
"I feel good today because I am standing here watching them cleaning it up, and I am seeing something being done. It makes me wanna cry," said Roberts.
Crews are working hard, trimming, cutting, pushing, and removing debris from Robert's beloved home.
Earlier this week, I shared with you, the community, how Roberts lost his home in the April 10th storms; after our story aired, Parish President Jessie Bellard sent out this crew to clear up the debris. Its all apart of his Parish initiative to clean up all storm debris before May 12th.
Flannigan asked, "Can you tell me how you feel about the Parish President coming to assist you?"
"With him coming out to help me, it shows that someone cares," said Roberts.
"What we do as a government is more than just roads and drainage; it's about a quality of life," said Parish President Jessie Bellard.
With boots on the ground, Bellard personally met with Roberts to let him know everything would be ok.
"But me as Parish President and just a normal citizen, we can do more things as a group, and I plan to see how we can help him put his house back together,"said Bellard.
"You finally get to see this debris removed from your home; you were trying to do this all by yourself," said Flannigan.
"Yes, I did; I love my place very much," said Roberts.
Roberts says his home served as more than just shelter.
"Your family grew up in this home, generations and generations," said Flannigan.
"Yes, mam, we all came up and around this home," said Roberts.
The future is unclear for Roberts as to what may come next, but he says he feels joy as he sits and watches with a smile on his face at what may be the first of many steps to getting his family home rebuilt.
"I am so happy about it; I don't know what to say anymore. I thank God," said Roberts.
Roberts still faces a tough challenge as his home is uninsured, but he says he remains faithful.
