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ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Veterans in a transitional housing program in Asheville had little time to evacuate during Helene.
They were able to leave the Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry’s Veterans Restoration Quarters unharmed, but their living quarters suffered severe damage from the storm.
Kenny McCurry returned to the VRQ this summer after it had been cleaned up from the storm.
He called this place home for three years.
The ministry is behind the 250-bed facility offering transitional housing for veterans facing homelessness.
“This was my first home I’ve had since 2010,” McCurry said.
The ministry’s chief administrative officer, Tim McElyea, said Team Rubicon removed debris and cleaned off mud for the nonprofit.
“There was just so much damage. Trees down everywhere, stacked cars turned over and damaged, and certainly we didn’t have the means to, you know, be able to do all that,” McElyea said.
The storm damaged rooms, plumbing, electrical and their parking lot.
“We had an extreme amount of water come through, and these rooms now, they’re all gutted,” McElyea said.
The VRQ neighbors the Swannanoa River, which flooded to unprecedented levels.
McCurry learned about the evacuation when members of the National Guard and the sheriff’s office knocked on his door.
Around 200 people had to evacuate quickly to area shelters.
“A lot of guys, they had everything that they owned here, you know, with them, which wasn’t a lot to start with. And then they lost that too,” McElyea said.
With the evacuation being imminent, he left behind his dentures and other invaluable items.
“I wish that I grabbed that box of photographs of my children that are overseas. They live in Britain,” McCurry said.
The 65-year-old, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, couldn’t retrieve much after the flood, but he carries with him the memories of the time he spent at this place.
“I can’t say enough things about this place. They got me through culinary school,” McCurry said. “Then I got my CDLs.”
McCurry said 18 years ago when he was struggling with addiction, he set an empty house on fire and was convicted of second degree arson.
“I did a very horrible thing in 2007. It was probably the darkest time of my life, when I lost control of myself and I burnt my home and my family’s home. That’s been my greatest thing to overcome,” McCurry said.
After Helene, when veterans couldn’t return to the VRQ, he went to a PTSD rehabilitation program in Ohio.
Meanwhile, the ministry found temporary housing for the rest of the veterans at a nearby hotel.
“The biggest request that we heard, because they were all three in different locations, is, ‘When can you get us out of here, and when can we get all back together?’” McElyea said.
McElyea said the rebuilding process will take up to two years.
“We are definitely going to need support to get it back to where it was,” McElyea said.
McCurry said this place gave him hope during his recovery journey. This summer, he was staying at his sister’s house and started a new job. He still gets support from the ministry with furniture for his rented room.
“I just have great people all around me,” McCurry said.
The ministry said private funding, corporate benefactors and a fundraiser are underway for the rebuild. The nonprofit also purchased a building next door to provide job training for veterans.
The program at the VRQ is a partnership through the federal government, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
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Estephany Escobar
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