A Dare at Deerfield Turns Into a Million Dollars for Helene Repairs
Residents of an Asheville retirement community took up a challenge this spring, and the rest of the city followed. The result is a fresh round of money for free home repairs in Buncombe and Madison counties.
This spring, the people who run the Deerfield retirement community’s charitable foundation put a challenge to their residents. If the residents pooled their money for neighbors whose homes were still broken from Hurricane Helene, the foundation would add four dollars for every one they gave.
The residents said yes, and they said it fast.
“We were delighted when they responded quickly and generously, and we hope that our gift will inspire others to do the same!”
Michelle Wooley, executive director of the Deerfield Charitable Foundation
When Deerfield’s gift was announced in July, the rest of Asheville was asked to match it; Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity has now confirmed that it did. Together, Deerfield and its neighbors raised $1 million for free storm repairs to the homes of low-income families.
Where the money goes
The money goes to the Asheville Regional Coalition for Home Repair, known as ARCHR. Six local organizations make it up: Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity (which also manages the funds), Poder Emma, the Community Housing Coalition of Madison County, Land of Sky Regional Council, the Asheville Buncombe Community Land Trust, and Community Action Opportunities.
After the storm, these groups stopped running separate repair lines and built a shared one. A family applies once (one form, one home assessment) and the partners decide among themselves who takes the job. Repairs are free for homeowners in Buncombe and Madison counties who meet the income limits and still have damage from Helene.
In a July interview with WLOS, Habitat CEO Andy Barnett said crews had replaced a lot of roofs, and had rebuilt decks, stairs and manufactured-home skirting that the floods washed away or undermined.
“A lot of our neighbors are still not in homes that are safe and stable after the storm,” he said. He described people still living in RVs, or in what he called “a little more than a tool shed kind of temporary housing.”
When this campaign began, the coalition had already finished repairs for more than 200 families, and roughly 400 more were on the waiting list. Some of those families are still displaced. Others are living in homes that aren’t safe. ARCHR had raised more than $10 million since the storm, and it still wasn’t enough to reach everyone who applied.
Other donors have pitched in too. In April, Asheville Christian Academy gave the coalition $300,000 for repairs in Swannanoa, a tithe on the money it is raising to rebuild its own Swannanoa school.
How to help, or get help
Donate online at archr.live, call Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity at 828-251-5702, or mail a check to 33 Meadow Road, Asheville, NC 28803 with “ARCHR” on the memo line.
If your own home in Buncombe or Madison County still has damage from Helene, you can apply for repairs at the same website.
Donate or apply at archr.liveSources: Asheville.com, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, Habitat: Asheville Christian Academy gift, Mountain Xpress, WLOS.