Hurricane Helene ravaged North Carolina. As most people are aware the federal government has done very little to help the people of those mountain communities. For the rich, those were second homes and so they probably won't be returning for a few years while they work out insurance claims and then get in line for contractors. But for the thousands of working class people they have been in essence homeless for 6 months. 2360 homes were completely destroyed, over 30,000 homes need major repairs and approximately 73,000 are in need of professional repairs.
WBTW-TV reports that for one teacher the waiting for help has gone on too long. At Mountain Heritage High School in Yancey County, North Carolina, students in Jeremy Dotts’ were told for the first time ever we're taking this class to the field. "We're not waiting on permits or asking permission. We have some lumbar and were going into the community to places officials still haven't visited. It's like going to the moon. The roads are gone. These people are legit living off the land. They're hunting animals and cooking them on open fires. They are sleeping under tarps."
Senior Jesse Taylor describes the aftermath, saying, “There was trees down all over the roads... rocks everywhere in the yards. Just a lot of damage. It was really sad to see.” So they're building tiny homes. “Most of these kids have already been accepted to a college for project management. Several want to become contractors. This is giving them experience no one their age has had before. More importantly they can see the people they are working for and the gratitude. I believe these kids will grow into some of the most giving adults in the Carolina's because of this".
The 18 kids have to walk a mile or more carrying supplies. Jeremy said "if we had power and end everything available we could build a tiny house in a week or less. We started this one in January and it was finished last week. A lot of that time was spent getting generators, lumber and supplies out there. He thinks they can average 2 homes a month. moving forwards. Some people are saying the county roads to these properties may be a year or more off, were they supposed to sleep under the stars till then?"
As fr code Jeremy says everything is being built to code and these houses could stand 100 years if the folks chose to leave them on their property. "If they send inspectors out I'm confident our homes will pass all inspections. But if they don't at least these people had some decent place to stay while they waited.