Two months have passed since Hurricane Helene made landfall, causing much damage and loss of life in the Southeastern United States, hitting North Carolina particularly hard.

Since then, the Diocese of Charlotte, which encompasses the western portion of the state, has played a key role in helping the region return to normalcy, as EWTN News In Depth’s Roselle Reyes reported this month.

“Part of our brain has shut down because we have not been able to face that devastation,” said Kelly Hansen, parish secretary of St. Andrew the Apostle Church in Mars Hill. The destruction includes downed trees, destroyed roads and an abundance of debris, including automobiles, everywhere.

“Where did everything go? It’s gone,” added Michael Warnock, Montreat resident. “It’s really hard to comprehend the destruction.”

“We had a car and a hose, and that was literally all we had,” noted Asheville resident Brandon Schneeberger.

Uninhabitable Homes

While life has improved in some areas of Asheville, other areas still have many homes that are uninhabitable without working plumbing and drinking water.

The hardest-hit communities include Asheville, Black Mountain and Swannanoa. There have been 43 reported deaths in the area, and more than 1,000 homes damaged, affecting the lives of 200,000 people.

Schneeberger recalled, “We heard a hurricane was coming. And it was sort of like the boy who cries wolf. We thought … maybe it’s going to be a little bit bad but surely our house wouldn’t be flooded.”

But rising water in a nearby river prompted Schneeberger and his wife to flee the area for higher ground. They had to stay put for three days due to mud and fallen trees. When they were finally able to return to their house, they found nothing salvageable. “It was completely destroyed,” Schneeberger explained. “The river came about two feet over the roof line [and] destroyed everything.”

Warnock reported that his custom-furniture shop in the River Arts District had “flooded away.” Additionally, his home in Montreat was hit by a landslide. There was one silver lining amidst the devastation: a work bench from his shop that had been swept down river was found “almost unscathed.”

On it were written the words “My friend St. Joseph, pray for me.”

He also discovered a blessed crucifix still affixed to a wall in his shop.

Schneeberger and Warnock are both parishioners of St. Margaret Mary Church in Swannanoa, which although being “ground zero” of the storm, suffered only minor damage.

Both men have turned to their Catholic faith in search of guidance and strength.

Schneeberger remarked, “I keep asking God, ‘Why did this happen? Why did this happen?’ But when I look at the crucifix, when I look at Christ on the cross, it is very comforting. Because this is what Christianity is: It is going through a sharing in the sufferings of Christ. He went through much more than we will ever have to.”

Warnock added that he had confidence that all would be well, and he was moved by the generosity of others in helping his family: “So many family and friends have been overwhelmingly generous.”

Dwayne and Jeneal Hensley also lost their home and have sought solace in prayer.

They have received help in salvaging the remnants of their home and its contents from Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian humanitarian aid organization. They sorted through debris and explored if part of the structure could be saved. “The first day it was overwhelming … it was hard to watch,” Jeneal recalled.

The husband and wife have leaned on their faith for support. As Dwayne explained, “God has never taken away anything from me that he did not replace with something better. … My hope is in the Lord and what his plan is.”

Relief Center

About 15 minutes away from downtown Asheville is St. Andrew the Apostle Church, which has been converted into a relief center.

Its staff and volunteers began distributing emergency supplies just days after the hurricane. Hansen noted that the parish was eager to help hurricane victims and that nearly all the space in the parish buildings is being used to store supplies. She joined with parish volunteers to collect and distribute items to the needy as long as possible as the community is in the rebuilding stage.

Many in the area are in need of supplies as their sources of income have disappeared amidst the destruction.

One recent aid recipient was a housekeeper, for example, who noted, “It’s hard to work right now, when I clean houses … and a lot of people don’t need their houses cleaned right now.” She turned to St. Andrew’s for basic necessities.

Charlotte Bishop Michael Martin has pledged that the diocese will be available “for the long term” as the community recovers.

More than half of the 46 counties of the diocese have been designated federal disaster areas. Forty churches in the hardest-hit areas have been designated relief centers as supplies from the diocese have poured in. Additionally, as time has passed, the diocese has shifted its focus to long-term rebuilding efforts.

Bishop Martin offered this spiritual reflection: “God walks with you now as you mourn the loss of your loved one and as you try as best as you can to put one foot in front of the other to continue to rebuild your life and to live a life that can once again know happiness and once again know blessings.”

WATCH