After Hurricane Helene Destroyed Her Home, Teens Helped a 76-Year-Old Widow Start Over
When disaster struck, high school students stepped up to give one widow a fresh start
When Hurricane Helene tore through the North Carolina mountains and washed away her home, 76-year-old widow Sherry Housley thought her life was over. But then a group of high school students grabbed their tools and helped restore her hope after tragedy. Here, she shares her story with Woman’s World.
Sherry Housley sat on an overturned block, exhausted from her 4-mile trek down mountain roads made impassible by fallen trees and other storm debris.
“It’s all gone,” the 76-year-old widow sobbed, gazing across the ramshackle lot where her house and workshop used to be. And there was no insurance.
“It’s all over for me,” Sherry grieved, and began the long trek up the mountain to her sister’s home, where she’d sheltered from the worst of the storm.
Helene was the worst hurricane to strike the North Carolina mountains in decades, damaging or destroying thousands of homes and businesses in Yancey and other nearby counties.
But those who were spared quickly stepped forward to help — like local real estate agent Stephanie Johnson, who organized several friends into a new nonprofit called Rebuilding Hollers.
Stephanie and the group began raising money, accepting donations and even auctioned off two donated Jeeps. They organized a distribution area to pass out tools and building supplies for those who could manage their own repairs and hired local contractors and tradespeople to help others rebuild—who worked at full wage because most of them were suffering, too.
Helping hands
Four days passed before Sherry could walk all the way into town. Maybe I could get some tools and put something together with old pallets, she thought, but all of the tools and supplies had already been taken. Sherry was crestfallen, but when Stephanie soon learned the extent of the widow’s loss, she jumped in to find a solution.
“We just made arrangements with the carpentry teacher at Mountain Heritage High School,” Stephanie told Sherry. “His students are going to build small homes, and you’re getting the very first.”
Carpentry teacher Jeremy Dotts runs a unique building program in a 10,000 square foot workshop where students build tractor sheds, gazebos and even modular houses right there in the shop.
“Can you build small houses for us?” Stephanie had asked him.
“We’d love to, but we don’t have the materials,” Jeremy replied.
“I’ll find the materials,” she assured.
True to her word, Stephanie delivered a truckload of lumber and building materials. Jeremy’s students gathered around
a set of blueprints, then eagerly set to work with saws and hammers. “We’re giving the roof a steep pitch, so snow slides off easily,” Jeremy told his students. “But it needs to fold down so we can get it out of the shop.”
Building hope after Hurricane Helene
When Sherry visited the shop, the students gave her a tour through the 16′ x 13′ shell and showed her where the different rooms would be. “We’ll add front and back porches on site,” they promised, and Sherry couldn’t contain her tears. “I thought my life was over, but you’re giving it back to me,” thanking each and every student.
Meanwhile, Stephanie arranged for Sherry’s lot to be cleared. A new foundation was poured and a new septic system and utility lines put in. Then one sunny day, a huge tractor-trailer came chugging up the mountain with Sherry’s new home. A crane lifted the house, and cheers went up as the building was set gently on its new foundation.
Almost immediately, a swarm of local roofers, electricians, plumbers and finishing carpenters set to work, including several of Jeremy’s former students who’d gotten their contractor’s licenses.
“I love the chance to pay forward all the help Mr. Dotts gave me,” says former student Adam Cannon, who is currently in college studying construction management. “I will never be able to thank everyone enough,” says Sherry.
Jeremy and his class are currently hard at work on a second small home to be given away, and Stephanie and her partners are still raising money to buy materials and hire local workers. “It’s an old mountain tradition,” she explains. “When a neighbor’s in trouble, we help out.”
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