Hurricane Helene Response

Helene Header

We are excited to announce that the Asheville ReStore has reopened! Our organization’s resiliency and the community’s outpouring of support has brought us to where we are today. The AVL ReStore team is thrilled to be reuniting after working at MANNA, at the Weaverville store, or remotely for many months. Stop by the store at 31 Meadow Rd. Tuesday – Saturday from 9 am – 6 pm.

Interested in volunteering with our Home Repair Disaster team? Fill out this interest form.

Thank you! We are grateful for all the support we have received in the past few months. The financial gifts, in-kind donations, volunteer hours, collaborations and partnerships, and thoughtful emails and cards. These have been the bright spots in some of the darkest days, and ongoing reminders of how much we can do when we do it together. Thank you!

Below are a few operations updates:

New Home Construction
We have completed and closed 4 homes since 9/27/24, welcoming 4 families HOME!

There are many new homes under construction at Glenn Bridge, and our volunteer calendar is open! Please join us in building homes, communities, and hope. Sign up here.

Home Repair
ICYMI, we are working in partnership with other ARCHR (Asheville Regional Coalition for Home Repair) members to help low-income homeowners who sustained storm damage, particularly the uninsured and under-insured. Learn more in this Mountain Xpress article.

ReStore
A big thanks to everyone who continues to support the ReStore, by shopping at and donating to the Weaverville ReStore. We appreciate your patience with pick-ups; the lead time is longer because we don’t have as many trucks as we previously did. We’re working to rebuild our truck fleet, repair the Asheville ReStore, and eventually re-launch the Deconstruction program. We are aiming to reopen the upper level of the Asheville ReStore in early 2025.

Admin Office
We have a TCO and our admin staff is now working out of the second story of the Administrative Office at 33 Meadow Road. Our Home Repair team is currently operating out of a Poder Emma space.

We will continue to need all your hearts, hands, and gifts in the months and years to come. Learn how you can support our Long-Term Recovery Efforts.

Asheville Habitat and MANNA FoodBank have been beacons of hope for thousands and thousands of families for more than forty years. Both organizations were hit hard by Hurricane Helene in late September with MANNA’s warehouse and office destroyed completely, and Habitat’s Asheville ReStore and Administrative Office severely damaged. Nonetheless, these two non-profits that the community relies on acted quickly to support the community in its greatest time of need.

Since Helene ravaged the region, some Asheville Habitat staff members served with MANNA in an informal capacity. MANNA also offered some office space in their new Mills River facility to Habitat’s administrative staff currently displaced from their Meadow Rd. property near Biltmore Village. In mid-October, the two agencies signed an agreement that has a number of ReStore staff working at MANNA’s new warehouse through mid-January 2025.

Restore At Manna 2

With Habitat’s Asheville ReStore closed indefinitely due to storm damage, CEO Andy Barnett worried there wouldn’t be enough work for all ReStore staff. At the same time, MANNA’s team was stretched thin trying to meet an increased need for food assistance. Barnett and MANNA’s CEO Claire Neal found a great match between Habitat’s ReStore workforce and the food distribution agency’s staffing needs. “MANNA was excited to welcome Habitat’s skilled, mission-aligned team members to help out, and I was thrilled to keep our team intact while we figure out our next steps,” shared Barnett.

A win-win for both agencies, this expanded partnership between two mainstay non-profits benefits not only the agencies, but the community at large. “By adding their multi-skilled staff to our Operations, Volunteer Center, and Community Markets teams, we have been able to expand our collective relief efforts. Together, we stand united in the goal of helping our communities heal and thrive once again,” remarked Neal.

We’re now accepting applications from homeowners with Hurricane Helene damage and who need home repairs! To qualify for no-cost repairs you must meet the following:
– Make less than 70% AMI (area medium income) based on your household size)
– Damage must be storm-related
– Must live in Buncombe or Madison Counties

Our focus is to help homeowners who don’t have insurance or who are under-insured. To apply, please fill out this form or call (828) 251-5702.

  • We are working to restore our operations while simultaneously responding to the needs of our community.
  • The Asheville ReStore and truck fleet were hit hard and there is significant damage to our Administrative Office building. It will be many weeks before we can reopen.
  • Fortunately, the Weaverville ReStore is okay (but not yet open) and we have the tools & trucks available to start rebuilding.
  • There was no widespread damage to Habitat neighborhoods. Some individual homes have some damage, but the communities at-large are okay.

How you can help 

We are so appreciative for the outpouring of support and offers to help. Thank you! We are not yet in a position to engage volunteers; stay tuned for updates about future opportunities. Please consider volunteering now with local relief efforts, helping neighbors in your immediate neighborhood, just doing whatever you can do. Connect here: helenevolunteers@buncombecounty.org and disastervolunteer@madisoncounty.gov.

If you are in the position to make a donation and want to support Habitat, please give to the Hurricane Helene Disaster Response Fund or to us. Nationally, Habitat is a leader in the long-term recovery of communities affected by disaster. Locally, we are well-positioned with the people and the skills to help our community rebuild. Watch this video by Habitat for Humanity International about Asheville.

We will provide additional update as available. Please be safe, and continue to help each other. Together, we will rebuild.