Hurricane Helene: Rebuilding Our Lives Through Loss.

At the end of September, Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina. Soon it will be two months since the disaster, but many of us are still trying to recover, repair, and rebuild our lives. This includes my family.

Our home had multiple trees come down around the property, totaling every single car except one that just barely made it out safely.

Two of the largest pine trees on the property had crashed onto our home while we were there, immediately causing the ceilings to collapse in multiple parts of the house. One of the first being the entire roof above my grandmothers bed, collapsing seconds after she got up to follow me sprinting to my sons room. Other parts of the house immediately split huge cracks, pouring in immense amounts of water as the storm raged on. In fear of another tree hitting the home, possibly collapsing the entire house, we managed to get my Grandmother and my 4 year old son prepped and made a dash to our neighbors house for shelter as the rest of the hurricane passed over. Once it passed, my sister was able to help me rescue my 3 cats and anything that was urgently needed and safely able to grab. (Medications, cat food, etc)

We were extremely lucky, as our roof being rebuilt in August was the most recent repair made on the home, and probably the reason we all made it out alive. I’m beyond grateful that we made it out and saved some of our stuff, but as time passes, we continue to realize just how much help we still need.

I had lost my form of income right before the hurricane and wasn’t able to start a new job till a month after. My grandmother had her hip replaced a few weeks ago and hasn’t been able to work much either. Despite this, we’ve still been out there using what few hours of daylight we have to clear the remainder of our home. Even with the trees now cut and removed from the structure, the house continues to collapse day by day, leaving the ceiling level with our faces by the front door.

I’ve decided to create this Go Fund Me to share our story and ask kindly for help from anyone who is able. Losing our jobs and dealing with inconsiderate people during the month of October has left our savings drained to maintain bills.

Any donations will help my family recover by helping to fund a new home to live in, rebuild my grandmothers home, assist in expenses for living, or recover anything that was lost.

The holidays have been rolling in and we haven’t been able to celebrate anywhere near as what we used to. I deeply appreciate anything that anyone is able to do to help assist us, even if you can only share this link. I will forever be grateful to all who have supported us through these times. I hope everyone stays warm, healthy, and happy as the winter develops.

Thank you so much