Help Michael, Brhi, and Poppy rebuild after Hurricane Helene

My brother and his wife have been massively impacted by the devastation of Huricane Helene. They are in one of the hardest hit towns in North Carolina—Old Fort, a historic mountain community outside of Asheville. This is a town that may not recover in years, if at all.

Michael, Brhi, and their 11-month-old, Poppy, were rescued by the National Guard on Friday from a nearby school where they found shelter. They had managed to enter the building only because a local teacher had keys and had sheltered inside. Michael says that by the time he went back to their vehicle to rescue their pets (an Australian sheepdog named Clover and their 14-year-old black cat, Bentley), the water had gone from ankle height to shin height to waist height. He wasn't able to make a return trip to grab their emergency bags. Their passports and important documents, alongside Michael's phone, were swept away with their car, which they last saw carried away by the water down the interstate.

Michael, Brhi, and Poppy sheltered in a local church with about 120 members of their community on Friday night and have since made it to safety in the nearby town of Spindale, NC.

They have lost everything.

They managed to make it back to their house yesterday to see the damage. The thick clay of the creek has caked their entire house. You can see how deep the imprints are in these photos. There's talk among neighbors that their whole area might be bulldozed.

Micahel and Brhi were young homeowners. They had managed to buy their house in 2022 and have spent the last years fixing it up—building fences, a porch, painting, and doing repairs. The house is now unlivable. You can see how high the water rose inside by the black marks on the walls.

They've been left in the clothes they were wearing when they were rescued and very little else.

Please donate anything you can to help Michael, Brhi, and Poppy rebuild!

They literally need everything right now. They have the clothes they were wearing and a few things salvaged from the house. Brhi and Michael told us yesterday that they managed to find some pictures and their wedding rings and they are returning today to try and see if anything else can be saved.

They have immediate care needs (food, clothes, water, shelter) as well as long-term costs for repairing their home and building their lives.

Their place of work, Manna—a foodbank dedicated to ending hunger in Western North Carolina—has also been destroyed by the storm. You can donate to their cause here. Another local entity, Blue Ridge Rails, have posted drone footage of the destruction of Old Fort here.

Every little thing will be a lifesaver for this small family!

Thank you so much to everyone who can give, even just a little.

**Update**

Michael and Brhi have located their vehicles. They are so lucky to have made it out of their car and to the school.

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All proceeds raised by GoFundMe will go to Michael and Brhi to help them with their needs moving forward from Helene. As GoFundMe needs to verify that this is a real need, they require notice of authorship and author's location. This post was written by Judith, Michael Stapleton's sister, who is based in South Bend, Indiana. I have created this GFM page with the permission of Michael and Brhi. Thanks once more for all your help to anyone who can donate.