Hope is all some people are holding onto in Western North Carolina nearly four and a half months after Helene hit the region.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency confirmed it approved $316 million to more than 145,000 N.C. households and individuals affected by Helene.
After a recent visit to the mountains in January, President Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order to “begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA.”
The president, now in his second non-consecutive term, toured Swannanoa, a community in Buncombe County wrecked by Helene.
“Last September, Hurricane Helene became one of the worst natural disasters in American history,” Trump said. “The highest responsibility and deepest obligation of the American government is to protect its’ people. That’s never truer than in emergency times like this. Unfortunately, the government failed you.”
Related article: Helene victims concerned that FEMA hotel vouchers may end
Meanwhile, from one end of the county to the other, the fight for survival continues for so many in the community of Fairview.
Depending on where you are and how you get there, a trip to Lovett Falls Lane in Fairview reveals so much about the loss caused by Helene.
Lisa Kent remembered every second of the chaos.
“It was rushing into my house and pushing my house, the trees were smashing everything underneath of it. My porch had took off,” Kent said of flooding during Helene.
This isn’t an isolated experience.
“It was like a river through here,” Kent said.
Historic rainfall turned into catastrophic flooding that Kent somehow survived with her youngest daughter and partner Mike Benham, but not without holding onto Benham for dear life.
“I jumped into his arms, went under and came back up and the bridge broke. The bridge broke and immediately the water went like, and it was up to here then,” Kent said, pointing to show how the water rose waist-high. “It was probably just a little above my head, like I touched the bottom when I jumped in but I went under and you could feel the suction. Trees and stuff were hitting you in the legs and pushing you. It was crazy.”
When the winds died down and waters retreated, they left in search of help, walking miles to find it.
“Honestly, we wouldn’t have been able to hold onto nothing because… we had nothing. We walked out with the clothes on our back. That’s it. We had no…nothing. When we left we grabbed our animals, and we hiked 8 miles down the road. It was a journey. An epic journey like through the road being gone, through landslides, through power lines, through trees falling down, and it was like a mecca of people. We were just walking down the road trying to get out,” Kent said.
The storm swept away many of their belongings, except some photos and frames found on the property in the aftermath.
“Everything else can be replaced,” Kent said.
Salvaging memories can’t replace peace of mind. A walk around the property presented multiple issues.
Piles of garbage grow by the day without being hauled away. Ruined mattresses rest on top of debris placed beside a dumpster with little room for more waste. All of this sat right next to a collection of damaged cars with busted out windows, shredded interiors and heavily dented exteriors.
A fair amount of the items belonged to the Benhams.
Wild turkeys also roam freely alongside pets and near sick people. Kent’s partner is in remission from leukemia. All of these factors create a potential biohazard.
Even the camper that was donated to the family post-Helene started leaking.
Kent said the camper, given by an anonymous donor, served them well for about a month or so. Then a string of rain showers made the safety of their new refuge fleeting.
“When the rain came, like that was when we noticed it was leaking,” Kent said in December. Since then, she said they’ve moved back and forth between hotels and living in a brown building beside the camper.
She reflected on what shape their lives would be in without some neighborly help.
“I would be homeless. I would be completely homeless,” Kent said.“I would be homeless. I would be completely homeless,” Kent said.
There are multiple signs from the Buncombe Permits and Inspections Department that made their old home uninhabitable.
“It was like a river through here. There’s a creek up there and the river, that river and that creek came together and made a huge lake. A lake of swirling water,” Kent said.
The damage to their mobile home is so catastrophic it's declared unsafe to enter and occupy. All that remains are the parts that held it together: frayed strands of installation, shattered window frames and the heap of strewn rubble that once resembled a place to lay their heads at night.
Lacey Benham, Lisa Kent's niece, lives on the same property. Lacey Benham said Sept. 27 remains fresh in her mind.
“This was all the bridge right here and they got washed out. It was right there,” Lacey Benham said. The bridge she talked about connected a road over land mass, but now that’s gone too.
“I don’t even know. I can’t even put words to it. It’s still surprising to me that all this happened,” Lacey Benham said. “I never expected this ever happen in my life. Like ever.”
The 19-year-old is among the extended family members living there and trying to figure out her next move.
“I've been stressed and trying to figure out how I'm going to live, because I've never lived on my own before. So I've been trying to figure out how I'm going to do all this,” Lacey Benham said. “I'm just working to help pay [for] things like how I'm living right now. I have to pay for gas and stuff, and so I'm trying to. I've been trying to figure things out, so I don't really know.”
It’s become too much for her young heart to bear.
“I'm also not the biggest fan of staying on here because of what happened. I'm traumatized from all of it, but I kind of have no other choice,” Lacey Benham said.
Improving their quality of life can depend on the outside world and what they have to offer. FEMA confirmed more than $11.7 million was awarded for repair or replacement of roads and bridges to nearly 3,900 families throughout Western North Carolina.
“We received a lot of help, and I am thankful for everyone that has helped,” Lacey Benham said.
But where there are sights of despair you can sometimes find signs of hope.
Bob Bittner drove up from Raleigh to gift the family a truck.
“It’s just amazing how the community of faith has come together,” Bittner said.
Bittner heard about their situation from a member of the Swannanoa Christian Church, Lacy Vollmuth.
“If church members knew of anyone who needed help, then we contacted them and asked for their needs list,” Bittner said.
Vollmuth relayed the need to Bittner, who found a generous stranger through his Devoted City Church in Raleigh to donate the vehicle.
“Nobody that's discriminating against anybody just looking out after the needs and just being willing to to respond to people,” Bittner said.
It's a sign people are willing to help no matter how great the need.
The family said they have applied for federal aid for housing but are still in the process of navigating the application process for other forms of aid. Kent said often the relief-seeking process feels excruciating but they are not giving up just yet.
More than 2,777 households are currently checked in to transitional sheltering assistance hotels and motels funded by FEMA.
If you feel compelled to give, here is a link to the Devoted City Church to learn more about the process.
Related article: 3 months later: Communities devastated by Helene continue to rebuild
