It was the charity of others that brought Petawawa's Sharlene Pietersma home for the first time in more than two years following a traumatic home invasion.

Greeted by a motorcycle escort,and a crowd of family and friends, Sharlene arrived home Saturday to see what her family described as the "start of the rest of her life."

"I can't believe it. It's beyond words. Definitely beyond words," said Sharlene.

In 2013 Sharlene and her husband, Danny, were home babysitting their grandchildren when a man with a knife entered the house. The intruder killed Danny Pietersma and left Sharlene clinging to life. She would spend months in hospital, eventually losing her eyesight and sense of smell.

Sharlene couldn't bear the thought of living in a house with such a painful past, so the community stepped-up and decided to build her a new one. More than 40 businesses and volunteers donated time and resources to build Sharlene and her family a state-of-the-art, fully accessible home on the old lot.

"In the valley, here, we tend to look after each other and it's always nice to know there is someone there for you when your chips are down," said Tony Boudreau, one of the many people who contributed to the " Bring Sharlene Home" fund.

"To me, it's wonderful. It means the world to me. It's just amazing what people will do to help people out," said Pete Pietersma, Danny's father.

"Move that truck!," the crowd yelled, as the transport truck parked in front of Sharlene's new home slowly drove-off to reveal a beautiful bungalow.

'This is helping her. It's beautiful," said Doug Liot, Sharlene's brother.

It wasn't the big bathroom, or the bedroom with blue walls the colour of Danny's eyes that brought a smile to Sharlene's face —   it was the rock on her front yard, a gift from her husband, now engraved with a special message.

"He'll be there with me all the time. And anytime I want to be just with him, I can go and sit on the rock. I felt him there today," said Sharlene.