By Brianna Stephens
A man stood over a small charcoal grill in his yard cooking a meal for this family. A trailer that was washed away by flood waters took down the power lines on his street and narrowly missed his home. He had a generator for power, but it broke after just three days, leaving him to rely on the grill to cook food for himself, his brother, and 14-year-old daughter.
“I never dreamed our home would be nearly washed away,” he said, looking over the piles of soiled belongings surrounding his home and powdery sand and dried mud where lush grass once grew.
In the wake of Hurricane Helene’s impact in the Southeast, Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Disaster Relief program is helping families in East Tennessee recover by mucking out their homes, tearing out damaged materials, and treating homes with mold remediation solution.
The trailer that was washed away during the flood crashed into the home of Jeannette and her husband. After the water receded, they came back to the devastation surrounding their home of 40 years. The home took on a foot of water, their yard was full of downed power lines, and their most cherished belongings and family photos were gone. Despite the tragedy, the family still has hope.
“The Lords blessed us,” Jeannette said. “We have each other. We have family. That you can’t replace. We’re still here.”
On the day of the flood Jeannette knew they didn’t have a lot of time to escape. They experienced minor flooding before in their area, but nothing like what happened Sept. 27. Heavy rain pelted against them as they went out to their truck, wading through water that was already up to their knees. State troopers were urging people in the community to leave before all the roads and bridges became impassible.
As they traveled down the last of the open roads, they watched campers from a nearby campground float underneath a bridge. They drove by a factory that was surrounded by water and Jeannette thought of her dear friend who worked there. She later learned the flood took her life.
“Our community looks like a war zone. It’s not the same,” Jeannette said. “But we all came together, and it brought everybody even closer. Everybody has pulled together to help each other. A lot of people have not got a place.”
Families are now faced with the decision of what to do next. CAP employees met with Jeannette and her husband to assess the damage and planned for what needs to be done on the home-cleaning out the crawl space, removing duct work, pulling up soiled floors, and taking down the wood panel walls, treating each board for mold.
“This is your home, but we want to do all we can to make it safe, warm, and dry again,” John Harris, a CAP Home Repair program crew leader, told Jeannette. She hopes she and her husband will be able to rebuild the inside of their home so they can continue to live there because they are not able to afford a new home. Until repairs are made, they are staying with their son.
“There’s so many people who have lost so much, but we look at it and we know we’ll recover,” she said. “God’s given us strength, so we’re blessed. Right now, I might not see why, but there’s a reason.”
To support CAP’s disaster relief efforts, visit christianapp.org/respond.