'One of the hardest days since the hurricane:' Asheville church needs more for rent relief

A church is helping residents of Asheville, North Carolina, pay their overdue rent and utility bills after Hurricane Helene. It's using discretionary funds and working with landlords to help those who apply.

The Cabins 4 Christ initiative is providing shed-like shelters for people who lost their homes in the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. The structures include a composting toilet, mattresses, plenty of insulation, and supplies like water and a cooking stove.

Water Mission is helping ensure Western North Carolina residents have access to safe water following Hurricane Helene. The group installed four of its proprietary mobile water treatment systems which produce 15,000 liters of clean water a day. The group has also distributed and gassed 400 generators for people to power their wells.

As flood risk and severity increase, homeowners are lifting their houses to avoid catastrophic damage. Hydraulic lifts raise the structure several feet up in the air, though it’s an expensive process, costing $75 to $200 per square foot. For some eligible families, low-interest disaster loans from FEMA are available to cover 75-100% of the costs. The organization has already raised nearly 22,000 homes nationwide since 1999.

A network of local organizations in North Carolina are supplying people impacted by Hurricane Helene with clothing that can keep them warm as winter arrives. They run clothing drives and then sort the donations to meet specific requests, which is more helpful than giving out boxes of random clothes.

A resident of Western North Carolina started a google form and spreadsheet to connect community members with volunteers offering the help they need to recover after Hurricane Helene.

The nonprofit Footprint Project is helping communities in North Carolina restore electricity after Hurricane Helene by delivering and installing solar equipment donated by companies or purchased with donated funds.

Young Power in Social Action helps families displaced by extreme weather, like hurricanes, by building weather-proof homes and helping those who lost their jobs find new work by providing them with goats or sewing machines to help them create a new livelihood. The group has already helped rehome eight families and plans to rehouse eight more families by April 2024.

In the wake of natural disasters, community land trusts (CLTs) are popping up in areas like Florida and Texas where hurricane damage is most severe. CLTs help provide affordable housing options to those impacted by natural disasters. Repairs can be extremely expensive and oftentimes in the wake of storms once affordable neighborhoods become gentrified, pushing out the original residents.

Salem, South Dakota revitalized its economic development corporation and launched an innovative community-investment model to jumpstart housing development after two derecho storms. Local leaders raised about $1 million through a creative funding mix and purchased land to build complete infrastructure (roads, water, sewer) for a 24-lot subdivision, reducing developer costs and risks. Two years after launching, underground systems are installed, roads are cleared and four of 24 lots have sold.