SWANNANOA, N.C. – It’s been just over ten months since Hurricane Helene swept through western North Carolina and neighborhoods are beginning to look livable again.
“For months, I just looked through 2×4’s into…dirt,” says elementary school teacher and homeowner, Vince Floriani. “And look at it now, it may not look like much to you, but it’s – it’s on its way.”
Two people rented Floriani’s duplex in the Beacon Village neighborhood in Swannanoa. He says one occupant was a disabled veteran and the other was a refugee from Nicaragua who moved into the residence in September 2024.
NORTH CAROLINA MAN SLEEPING IN TENT AFTER HURRICANE HELENE
Vince Floriani’s home was submerged underwater, along with other homes on his street during Hurricane Helene’s storms.
Both of the renters were home when Helene smashed through their neighborhood. John Thompson, the disabled veteran living in the duplex, said it was his dream home.
Thompson said he had a pretty rough upbringing and dealt with numerous traumas before Helene’s floods rushed his front door.
“I went out the back door and I literally swam off the back porch,” Thompson said, “then I hear something beating and I turned around, and she was beating on the window, just bangin’.”
Thompson felt the need to help his neighbor, despite never meeting her.
WNC RIVER TOWN REOPENS TO VISITORS AFTER HELENE
Eventually, he got his neighbor living in the duplex next door and himself, on the roof. Not long after, Thompson jumped into the raging river to find help, afraid that the home he was standing on would be washed away.
Both Thompson and his neighbor survived.
“So he saved this woman’s life. John Thompson, he’s a hero,” says Floriani, “He would love to move back in so we would love to get this back up and running so he can maybe move back in.”
Floriani and volunteers are working in the humidity and heat to get the home rebuilt.
Valley Hope Church says they have volunteers lined up for every week until September.
Floriani said he has been surprised by the outpouring of help from Americans across the country.
“They just want to help, no questions asked and that’s really inspiring to me and…it’s profound to me,” he said.
The neighborhood of Beacon Village is also raising money to help neighbors move back into their homes, through their Save Beacon Village website.
Valley Hope Church says they’ve been able to help rebuild 150 homes damaged by Helene.
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Johnson said volunteers have filed in from all over the world and continue to help them push through their mission.
Businesses like Best Buy Metals, which has donated enough metal for 80 sheds, have been an important asset to Johnson’s mission.
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