More than 4,500 WNC households have been connected with temporary housing support following Hurricane Helene. In January, Gov. Josh Stein awarded Baptists on Mission and Habitat for Humanity a total of $6 million to begin immediate repairs and rebuilding needs. On March 19, the Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 directed another $120 million in funding for home rebuilding and repair.
Yancey County’s Burnsville Rebuild Center is just one of six recovery sites operated by Baptists on Mission. Construction coordinator Ed Punt meets with homeowners to determine what their needs are and assess their home’s damage before his team begins working. He shared a story about an older couple with mobility challenges whose home of 50 years was damaged beyond repair by Hurricane Helene.
“This man had an unfixable home down in a hole next to a creek, but he had a garage he had worked out of that was on higher ground,” said Punt. “He said if we could build onto his garage, he could make a home there with his wife.”
Punt and his crew work quickly and efficiently while taking care to include homeowners in the repair and rebuild process, asking for their input on decisions like door and window placement. They leave each job feeling grateful to have helped.
Baptists on Mission rely on volunteers like Bryan Forney, a pastor from Waynesville, Ohio who brought a group to help with rebuilding in Burnsville. "There are so many people from our church who said, ‘Hey, when are we going? What are we doing? We want to go and help,’” said Forney. “We just feel honored to be able to serve with you guys and help serve the good people of North Carolina.”
More than 13,000 people have volunteered through Baptists on Mission in western North Carolina since Helene. Punt says it’s people’s passion to help that drives the work. “If we simply have enough bodies to help, we’ll put these people back in their homes again. Homes they can live in safely and enjoy the rest of their lives.”
Track housing recovery progress by visiting the Rebuilding Safe Housing data dashboard, updated weekly by the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC).