‘Hope, sadness, and remembrance’: western North Carolina slowly heals six months after Helene

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. — “I think the reality is, many folks don’t understand how much work is ahead of us,” says William Carpenter.

The scars are still very visible in Buncombe County, North Carolina, six months after Hurricane Helene brought hell on earth to what’s normally a little slice of Heaven.

“Where we’re standing right now, the water would have been just above my head,” Carpenter explains as he stands in a neighborhood in Swannanoa heavily damaged by flooding. The rows of homes, some with six-foot waterlines still visible, stand on the south side of Highway 70, over 500 feet away from the banks of the Swannanoa River.

Carpenter is the executive director of the Valley Hope Foundation, a local nonprofit founded in the aftermath of the storm that aims to bring relief to those hit hardest.

“So each day, there’s hope,” Carpenter says, “Then there’s sadness, and remembering, and trying to give the people something to grasp onto. We need to see the visual markers of progress.”

Progress is being made every day in Swannanoa, bit by bit. It’s a case of neighbors helping neighbors. Carpenter chats with a church youth group from Oregon in the process of rebuilding a home. The group is spending their spring break helping those who lost everything due to Helene.

Fairview – the next town over – also received a visitor today. Governor Josh Stein touted the $500 million in aid set aside by the state for western North Carolina.

“Nowhere near enough, but enough to get us started,” Stein says.

“People need to get back in their homes. Roads and bridges need to be fixed. Businesses need to keep their doors open and their employees hired. Communities need clean drinking water.”

The governor also met with people who lost loved ones six months ago, like Mary Garrison. Her husband, Tony – a battalion chief with the volunteer fire department – and her nephew, Brandon, were both killed by the floods as they attempted to help others evacuate to higher ground.

“My husband, he had a calling for the fire service, and Brandon had a heart of gold,” Garrison beams. She smiles as her eyes well up.

“They’d help anybody in any way. And neither of them thought twice.”

Garrison says the outpouring of support she’s received from across the country means everything to her.

And it would’ve meant the world to her husband and nephew.

“They would have been just as touched as I am,” Garrison beams, “It certainly renews your faith in humanity, honestly.”

Step-by-step, brick-by-brick, the pieces will be put back together.

We haven’t seen the last of hurricanes, fires, and floods here, but these folks will always be Carolina Strong.