How One Couple Weathered Hurricane Helene
“It was so disastrous when it hit,” said Kenneth.
We grabbed all our vinyls, stereo systems, and music equipment, brought them upstairs, and hunkered down, praying for the best.
The wind howled, and the walls trembled with every gust. Kenneth and his wife didn’t know if the house would hold, but they couldn’t leave the music behind. It felt like saving a part of themselves. Kenneth had lived in Avery County for 13 years. When he and his wife bought the house five years earlier, a quiet home near a river with a pond in the backyard, it felt like a peaceful retreat. He hadn’t been concerned before when it rained. But this time was different.
“We put our cars on the highway that night. By morning, the water was up to our knees,” he said. “The river overflowed. A dam broke. Water came through the air ducts; we were grabbing everything we could.”
Within two hours, three to four feet of water filled their home. The damage was swift and overwhelming. A thousand vinyl records, years of equipment, and their sense of safety were suddenly at risk.
Still, Kenneth knew others had it worse. “We’ve got it better than a lot of other people,” he said.
After the hurricane, they fought hard to remain in their home. With help from FEMA and the generosity of a neighbor, an expert in heating and air systems, they managed to get their utilities up and running again. Still, the kitchen remained in shambles, and the road to recovery felt never-ending. During the darkest moments, Kenneth remembered something he had once freely given: time and effort. A chef by trade with a deep love for music, he had spent years volunteering at The Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, an annual event in Asheville, North Carolina, whose proceeds support organizations like Habitat for Humanity. Now, life had come full circle.
Habitat Charlotte Region, in partnership with Habitat Avery County, stepped in to help Kenneth and his wife reclaim not just their home, but their peace of mind. With support and guidance, they rebuilt room by room. And while each new storm brings fresh anxiety, every strong wind stirs old fears, they remain standing.
“We made the best of it,” Kenneth said. “We set up an apartment upstairs and kept going. Being a lifelong camper, I used a portable stove to create a makeshift kitchen on the porch and helped feed the neighborhood.”
Today, the vinyls are back on shelves, and the music is playing again. There’s work left to do, but hope is alive. “We were never promised a rose garden,” he said. “But part of life is getting up every day and pushing forward.”
