News about programs at Mountain Projects

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We, Mountain Projects: Darlene McElrath

Darlene McElrath has watched her mother cope with a common challenge: staying in her longtime home, but struggling to shop, clean and prepare meals.
For 15 years McElrath has served as Mountain Projects’ Senior Services Coordinator, where she has the chance to help hundreds of other families navigate such difficulties.
“We provide assistance to people who can’t do things by themselves anymore, and that makes a huge difference for them,” says McElrath. “I feel no one should have to move away if just a little help can allow them to continue living in the place they love, where they are comfortable and things are familiar.”
Beyond those basic needs, McElrath notes, Mountain Projects’ senior programs provide opportunities for socialization, interaction with others and chances to remain active and engaged with their peers.
All told, the organization serves hundreds of seniors across several programs.
Donations are welcome and put to good use, McElrath says – money goes toward shelf-stable food items and in-home services in particular – but the community can also help by spreading the word about Mountain Projects’ services.
“We want as many people as possible to be aware of what we offer,” she says.
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We, Mountain Projects: Dayton Hensley

Few people have a longer relationship with Mountain Projects than Dayton Hensley.

Hensley, 59, suffered physical abuse as a child and has a learning disability as a result. He got his first job through Mountain Projects at age 14, sweeping up at Camp Lab School in Cullowhee, and later at the Department of Social Services in Sylva. Much later, the organization stepped into his life again.

Last year Dayton was in the midst of remodeling his trailer home when he fell from a high ladder and suffered serious injuries.

With winter setting in, his home was unlivable.

His sister pointed him toward Mountain Projects, and a phone call later Vivian Bumgarner and () came to the rescue. They realized that rehabbing Dayton’s existing home was an impractical solution, so they quickly raised funds, found donors and replaced Dayton’s trailer.

“It was like a dream come true,” Dayton says. “They all fell in together and fixed me right up. They’re super. They all came in here and took down my old trailer and worked with Rocky Branch Church to take up donations. And they let me stay in a motel while they were doing the work.”

Now Dayton’s home, situated on pretty family land on a knoll along Hyatt Creek, is snug and tidy.

”In my old trailer nothing worked,” he says. “Why, I had to go outside to wash the dishes.”

Now he has two sources of heat, plenty of insulation, and plumbing that works, too.

“I believe the heat pump is worth more than the trailer,” he jokes.

Hensley was employed in manufacturing most of his adult life, with long stints at Heritage Quilts in Sylva and Cashiers Plastics locations in Cashiers and Waynesville. But many of those jobs are leaving the area, and that puts people like Dayton in a pinch.

“Back then, those were the types of jobs for people with learning disabilities like me,” Dayton says. “Now they want a high school degree. It’s hard to find good, inside work.”

”I’m one of those types of guys that couldn’t get an education,” he says. “I wanted one, and I wanted it bad, but some people have it and some people don’t, when it comes to that kind of thing.”

“Mountain Projects is a good thing for people like me, who don’t have an easy time finding jobs.”

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We, Mountain Projects: Vivian Bumgarner

When Vivian Bumgarner arrived at Mountain Projects 36 years ago, the first impression she made was of a willingness to roll up her sleeves and get right to work.

The Executive Director at the time, George Carpenter, recruited her from a landscaping crew.

“Can you read a tape measure?” he asked. She said she could, and before she knew it she was measuring and cutting plexiglass for Paul Tapp’s weatherization and rehab crew.

“Right after Paul was hired, the two of us tackled cleaning out the foyer in the former Mountain Projects building on Old Balsam Road,” says Bumgarner. “It was a mess, as there was insulation, bees, trash and debris everywhere. It took us about three days to do it, but we got it cleaned.”

Years later, Tapp told her that after that project, he knew she’d be a huge asset to the organization. Now Vivian is Mountain Projects’ Housing Rehabilitation/Weatherization Manager. Her unit served 91 families last fiscal year.

“I love helping people with their homes,” she says. “We weatherize homes, making their homes warmer, help them with roof repairs, water and well system, electrical repairs, handicap ramps and so forth.”

The repairs her crew perform are largely for elderly, disabled, and low income clients, and help them stay in their homes longer and with a greater quality of life.

“One of my best memories was of two little elderly ladies in Canton,” says Bumgarner. “They didn’t have a bathroom, only an outhouse that they had used all their lives. We did lots of work on the home and built a bathroom with running water. Later, when we went for an inspection, this little lady grabbed our inspector by the sleeve for a full bathroom tour, complete with flushes of the toilet.”

“She was so excited to have a bathroom. No longer did they have to go outside in the middle of the night, in freezing weather, rain or snow. Now they had the luxury that most of us do. This is why I do what I do!”

Bumgarner grew up in a hard-working household. 

“We had to help with cutting wood, working on cars, running cattle or just whatever was needed,” she says, “so I was used to working outdoors in the rain, snow or sunshine.” 

“I feel like I might have lucked up on getting this job,” Vivian says. “But I have worked very hard to get where I am today.”

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Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership Welcomes Executive Director Heather Boyd

When Heather Boyd gave birth to her daughter, Casey, she suffered severe complications which threatened her life. She went through 11 liters of blood on the operating table, which is no small thing, given the body only holds about five.

Two years later Heather and Casey are fine, but one of her takeaways from that experience and her long recovery had to do with – housing? Yes, housing.

Boyd was recently hired as Executive Director of the Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership (SMHP), a division of Mountain Projects, which is making strides to create affordable essential workforce housing in Haywood and Jackson Counties, and to provide pre-purchase homeownership counseling to young people starting their careers in fields like healthcare, teaching, firefighting and policing.

Boyd remembers the hard working hospital staff that saved her life, and particularly the intensive care nurses that helped she and Casey recover.

“If you get sick, you want people working in your community hospital who are well trained, happy in their job and who care about your well-being, right?” asks Boyd.

“You want someone who is steady and capable to keep your family member alive. Affordable housing is the cornerstone of our communities. Providing assistance to these workers and helping them own their own homes provides security for these families and positively affects the entire community.”

Without affordable housing, all essential professions in our community are impacted. Recruiting suffers, and retention is difficult, with workers coming and going without settling in.

Boyd is the first Executive Director of SMHP, which was founded in 2019 and has made steady progress since then, raising over $215,000 for initial operations, then organizing an affordable housing consortium with HUD and creating a network of strategic partnerships.

She brings both practical experience and life experience to the job. A Transylvania County native and mother of six children, she worked her way through school at Blue Ridge Community College and A-B Tech.

Since 2011 she’s built an impressive resume in banking, with a primary focus on lending and affordable housing. She began work in 2017 as a housing counselor with the Housing Assistance Corporation in Hendersonville, where she won accolades for both counseling and lending and won the Louise Mack Housing Counselor of the Year Award in 2019. Her experience prior to 2017 included stints with United Community Bank, Sharing House, First Citizens and Ecusta Credit Union. She holds numerous certifications.

Boyd credits her professional climb to mentor Marianne Festa, to longtime involvement with Western Carolina Community Action and to United Way Rising Leaders.

Boyd says her background includes plenty of hard work, struggle and personal financial growth, which she says helps her empathize with her clients. A single mother for part of her life, she put her kids through Head Start and helped care for her brother, a combat veteran, and mother, all while working and continuing her education.

“If I can do it, anyone can!” she says.

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Health Insurance Counseling at Mountain Projects

Open enrollment for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act lasts until December 15, 2020, and Mountain Projects offers free insurance counseling with western North Carolina Health Insurance Marketplace certified application counselors until enrollment closes.

New health insurance companies are in our area for 2021, offering more plans, so explore all the prices and benefits before you enroll. 94% of applicants receive financial assistance!

The project is made possible by support from the K.B. Reynolds Charitable Trust and the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation.

Schedule your appointment by calling 828.452.1447, or click here for more information.

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