Photo Credit (Pixabay)
Following Hurricane Helene’s devastation of their towns, many families in Western North Carolina found themselves confronting the holiday season without the ideal home.
Hundreds of volunteer home builders and Lowe’s relief efforts allowed for the donation and installation of dozens of tiny homes to families in time for Christmas Eve this month.
While their permanent home is being rebuilt, families may stay in their community in these tiny homes, which provide heat and all the necessities—like a kitchen, bathroom, and two full-size beds.
All of the furniture, seasonal plants, and decorations for each house were generously given by Lowe’s.
When the floodwaters receded from the mountains outside Asheville, where Kathy Graham had lived for 24 years, she found mold and no heat. However, she was reluctant to leave her animals behind, so she stayed put. That’s why, when she laid eyes on her temporary home for the first time 10 days ago, she was completely moved.
My new “tiny home” has arrived, and I am eternally grateful. It’s fantastic. I am in awe. This is unbelievable to me. The words fail to express my gratitude. Truthfully, my prayers have been answered by the Lord. My prayers were answered.
A community of builders and employees from Lowe’s worked around the clock to make the mobile tiny homes a reality, and Graham is just one of several dozen people who will be able to move in in the next few weeks.
With the help of an old acquaintance, Danny Kelly—co-owner of Kelly McArdle Construction in Charlotte—the project came together after Julie Yenichek, Lowe’s Senior Director of Community Relations, proposed a wild concept to Danny.
My first reaction was, “Oh my God, that’s perfect.” Then she said that she planned to construct one hundred microhomes. “They had all these volunteers lined up and all the supplies lined up; they just didn’t know how to do it,” she added, “and I’ve been looking for my opportunity to do something big, but I don’t have the resources to do it.”
In his garden, a group of volunteers constructed a prototype. They then relocated to a warehouse in Charlotte, North Carolina, and constructed 16 more homes, each measuring 8 by 16 feet, with the assistance of 400 volunteers who had volunteered to assemble the homes in time for the holidays.
With an additional 33 homes set to be delivered by early January, Lowe’s will have 50 homes to offer families in need of a place to call home for the holidays. Incredible Tiny Homes constructed 67 of these homes at their site in Newport, Tennessee. Take a look at one of the touching deliveries down below…
Incredible Tiny Homes owners Amanda Hayes and Randy Jones recounted how they beheld the devastation inflicted upon their hometown in East Tennessee by the floodwaters. They were overjoyed when Lowe’s contacted them with a solution for families—they would be financially responsible for building additional tiny homes to be transported to various locations.
“It really struck me whenever they sent me the pictures… it was like, my goodness, these people don’t want to leave their land,” Amanda said of the first home’s new owner, a mother of three.
To put it simply, it is crucial. Providing homes for these individuals who have suffered tremendous losses is the most meaningful endeavor we have ever undertaken with Lowe’s.
On wheels all the time, they have enough room for three or four people and can hook up to power.
The Greater Charlotte Home Builders Association is leading the volunteer effort. More than 400 people volunteered to help assemble the small houses in under seven days, according to their executive officer, Jennifer Schuster.
“From framing crews, roofing crews, plumbers, electricians, and even the actual builders in the markets, we’ve had volunteers from all walks of life. Our associates, the suppliers, have sent their project managers, and their employees have joined in as well.”
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In light of Lowe’s $12 million commitment to aid with recovery efforts, Yenichek states that the objective is to hasten the completion and delivery of one hundred tiny homes to the mountain flood victims.
Local WLOS-TV News reports that the US disaster agency FEMA has authorized $279 million, which includes housing subsidies for more than 140,000 households. However, some residents remain in their towns and have been staying in FEMA-subsidized hotels or improvised shelters like tents or sheds.
In addition to SunCap Property Group, who provided the warehouse space for the build, other supporters include Habitat for Humanity, NASCAR haulers (who transported the houses to cities around the region), BeLoved Asheville, the Appalachia Service Project, and NASCAR.
