Friends and family, neighbors, donors, volunteers and Mountain Projects staff gathered in Bethel Village recently to celebrate Michelle Parker, a community member who lost her home in Clyde (twice!) due to the devastating floods from remnants of Tropical Storm Fred and Hurricane Helene.
The Smoky Mountain News’s Lily Levin touches base with Mountain Projects’ Amanda Singletary about the impact of the government shutdown on Section 8 housing. “Because everyone is furloughed right now, literally last week, when I emailed probably a dozen of my HUD contacts, all of their emails bounced back,” Singletary
Your Donations at Work! A new modular home has just been set in Bethel Village through the Smoky Mountain Housing Partnership Homes for Hope initiative! Thanks to donors, volunteers, and partners, families displaced by last year’s floods are finding safe, stable, affordable housing. We are all a part of this
“Our house was just destroyed,” she said. “The water line was inches from the ceiling, and it had tossed around our appliances like they were nothing.”
Many Appalachians lean on their faith for strength during a crisis, but one family along the Pigeon River near Clyde found echoes of their spirituality all around after they watched their home destroyed in recent flooding brought on by Hurricane Helene.
“The good Lord left us here for a reason,
The moment Romulus Meares, IV, 31, of Clyde, realized his home was flooding beyond repair, with water rising to his knees, he sat down in his living room and played a final song on the piano that had been an anniversary gift to his wife and would soon be destroyed.
“It’s all devastating and heartbreaking,” says Roger. “Sometimes your mind doesn’t work right trying to think about it. But you have to keep the faith. Things happen for a reason. Each step’s gonna be a little bit better. Even this flood, it’s got its reason.”
