Sheila and Shawn have been married for 16 years, and they have two daughters and a dog who they love dearly. Once the youngest of their daughters graduated from college (2022), they decided to sell their home in South Carolina and moved to an apartment in Fletcher, North Carolina. Their goal was to save money to one day build their forever home.

On the early morning of September 27th (2024) - the morning after Shawn's 52nd birthday - they woke up to discover that they had lost power. They communicated with family members to inform them that they may be difficult to reach for the day, assuming it would only be a simple power outage. Three hours later, water began rushing into their apartment, and they scrambled to grab only the necessities (i.e., their dog, a suitcase of clothes, and important documents). They managed to evacuate their apartment in seven minutes, where they saw that both of their vehicles were fully submerged under water.

They rushed to the top story of their building, where they began sheltering with a neighbor. To conserve battery, they were only able to provide limited communication with their daughters, informing them that they had to abandon the apartment and have lost everything. They continued to shelter with the neighbor (without power, running water, or fresh food) until the rain stopped a few hours later.

After the rain stopped and the water seemed to recede, they went down stairs to attempt to salvage any belongings. The water had risen up to the knob of their front door, and there was four feet of water inside their apartment. They were able to get inside, where they saw that all of their belongings were broken and/or floating around. Their bed was split in half, their fridge had fallen and was floating around, all of their family photos, home videos, and journals were destroyed, among other things.

The service in the area then went out, and they were unable to make any calls or communicate with the rest of their family to provide updates. Hours later, they found someone with a working phone, and they were able to update their daughters.

Sheila, Shawn, and their dog have been sheltering with their neighbor (without power) for the last 24 hours. They no longer have a home or working transportation, and will need to purchase new cars and find a place to live. They have lost almost all of their sentimental belongings, including their wedding rings, items from their childhoods, and items from their daughters' childhoods.

Please donate anything you can to help them find a new place to stay/live, and to eventually obtain some form of transportation.