It’s been over a year since Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina. Different metrics are used after a natural disaster to measure its impact: the number of lives lost (248 recorded), the number of homes destroyed or damaged (some estimates as high as 200,000), the dollar amount of economic losses (in North Carolina alone estimates exceed $54 billion), and how much it will cost to rebuild (some estimates exceed $200 billion). Hurricane Helene’s numbers are staggering, and they tell only a fraction of the story of how life changed that day in September 2024.
Hurricane Helene was not just a hurricane; it was also a devastating geologic event. The storm triggered more than 2,000 landslides in our region. In the area I live in, 16 people died in mudslides, some of which were several miles long. The storm spawned multiple tornadoes. All told, Hurricane Helene took out at least 40% of the trees in Buncombe County.
Like many other churches, the church that I pastor, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, sprang into action right after the storm hit. We opened our doors and figured things out together. At the six-month mark after Hurricane Helene, we had done more than $5.5 million in rent support for storm survivors. We had done over $500,000 in utility bill support, and we have no way to count all the free supplies we have handed out. Over a year later, we, alongside some of our community partners, are still doing rent support, providing free supplies, and assisting those facing utility bill shut offs. Many of our service economy workers are not back to full-time hours. Some of them worked for businesses that no longer exist. Some of them work for businesses that are not sure they are going to make it.
Rent support means that when you hit a hard stretch because of a job loss, a health emergency, or a natural disaster, you have a way to get your rent paid to avoid eviction. At Grace Covenant, we created a low-barrier application system because of the sheer magnitude of the disaster. Hundreds of people were lined up at our door every day, even months after the storm. In July 2025, we opened one day of the month for rent support and had 110 apply. We were able to stop 23 evictions that were already in the courts for a total cost of $67,000. And we assisted many others who were in immediate danger of eviction. In one day, we spent $110,000 to help keep people housed.
Even in the best of times, rent support has the capacity to be a thread that strengthens the whole economic ecosystem. It supports renters by helping them stay housed and avoid having an eviction on their record. Having an eviction on your rental history makes future renting very difficult, if not impossible. Rent support helps property owners because evictions often end up costing those who own rental properties. Rent support supports business owners by keeping a trained workforce in place. And rent support helps the whole community stabilize after a natural disaster.
The rent support we did at GCPC did not come from any state or federal funds. Over 60% of our donations were from private donors all over the world. The rest of the funds came from grants disbursed by local philanthropic organizations like the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County and Dogwood Health Trust, as well as grants from the City of Asheville and Buncombe County.
As our country settles into this next phase of climate change, epochal weather events will be more frequent and more devastating. Our collective resolve to take good care of each other in this historical moment can be about something other than political polarization and competing claims about truth and consequences. Human beings can adapt, and we can learn from difficult experiences about how to strengthen what makes us a nation in the first place: we, the people. The better we are at disaster responsiveness and sharing resources with those most impacted, the safer and stronger local communities will be. The safer and stronger our local communities are, the safer and stronger our nation will be.
The Rev. Dr. Marcia Mount Shoop is pastor and head of staff at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Asheville, North Carolina.(Click here to read original PNS story)
Let us join in prayer for:
Jenny Barr, Reference and Outreach Archivist, Presbyterian Historical Society, Interim Unified Agency
Andrew Kang Bartlett, Associate, Presbyterian Hunger Program, Interim Unified Agency
Let us pray:
God of mercy and refuge, we remember all who were harmed by Hurricane Helene and who lost loved ones, homes, work and stability. Hold communities in Western North Carolina in your healing care and strengthen all who continue the long work of rebuilding. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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