‘I can get back to normalcy’: North Carolina man gets new home after Helene
By Marc Liverman
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ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — On Friday, Sept. 25, a Leicester man is spending his first night in a brand-new home after Helene destroyed his previous house, leaving him unsure where to turn.
Denny Fultz’s home was severely damaged when floodwater and debris came rushing down his driveway during the storm.
“All I could hear was roaring and rumbling and there was this water like a river coming straight down my driveway into my house,” Fultz said. “It knocked a bunch of trees down. I couldn’t get out.”
The destruction left Fultz facing an uncertain future.
“I was just thinking, ‘What am I going to do first, what am I going to do now?’” he said. “It was one of those shocking moments when you didn’t know where to start.”
Almost two years after Helene hit, Fultz has a new place to call home through Renew NC, a program designed to help people whose homes were severely damaged by Helene and could not be safely rebuilt or occupied.
Fultz said he learned about the program after seeing an advertisement on Facebook.
“I just so happened to look at my Facebook one day and there was an ad in there for Renew NC,” he said. “I went in, they told me everything I needed and the process was smooth.”
Then, Fultz welcomed North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein inside for a tour.
As Stein walked through the house, he admired the new space, including the large laundry room, closets and other features.
“This is just absolutely beautiful!” Stein said.
Fultz said moving into a new home means much more than just a roof over his head.
“They always say there’s nothing like home and now I can get back to normalcy,” he said. About 300 homes have been completed through the program so far, with more than 150 additional homes under construction, according to Stein.
As for Fultz, the next chapter is about enjoying the simple things.
“I’m hanging out on my back porch, playing my guitar,” he said.
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