Angélica Ramírez has lived in only two houses in her entire life.
The first was in Detroit, where she was born and raised until she was 18. The second was in Spruce Pine, at the end of a road accessible only by 4×4, in a hollow between two mountains that locals call a “holler.”
She lived in that house for 23 years. There, she raised her daughter and spent time with her parents, Mexican immigrants.
It was also there, one afternoon, that she met the man who is now her husband: Christopher Smith had arrived to replace the floors while she was away. When Angélica got home, he was about to leave. “It was love at first sight,” they say.
In that same house, they experienced one of the most terrifying days of their lives. Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina on Sept. 27, 2024, and Spruce Pine was one of the hardest-hit areas.
“When we heard the trees cracking and falling, I knew the best thing to do was look out the window, make sure nothing was going to fall on us, and stay where we were,” Christopher Smith told Enlace Latino NC.
At the back of the house, a small creek began to rise quickly. That morning it reached the yard and soon the inside of the home: the water rose to 4 feet inside the house.
They soon lost power. “That’s when I knew we were in trouble — when I saw the power lines down. I tried to report it, but there was no one to call.”
The story of the day the hurricane hit ended well for them: they had survived. But what came next was very difficult. For weeks, they were without electricity or water, trying to put things back together.
Christopher, a contractor, tried every possible way to repair the house. But each fix revealed another problem. Mold had spread through the walls. The subfloor was completely damp. The well water was contaminated.
They lived there for three weeks until an inspector from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) confirmed it: the home could not be repaired.
Some time later, a North Carolina disaster social worker told them about Renew NC, the state program created to rebuild homes destroyed by Helene in the western part of the state.
Now, more than a year and a half after the hurricane, they are about to receive the keys to a new house.
This story is also available in Spanish. Read it here: Un año y medio sin hogar: la historia de una familia que espera volver a casa tras Helene
The dream of returning home
They applied to the program in June 2025. Days later, when Renew NC contacted them, Angélica was skeptical. She was used to programs, organizations and aid foundations taking weeks to respond.
“The first six months were very discouraging. It was a lot of rushing only to wait, and many promises that didn’t come through,” she said.
But this time seemed different. “It wasn’t hard to apply. They asked for proof that you owned the property, that you didn’t have insurance or, if you did, that you had already used it for repairs, and it wasn’t enough, and that you lived there in September 2024. It was the same as what all the other programs asked for,” Angélica said.
In October 2025, they were approved: they had been selected for the Renew NC Single-Family Housing (ReNew NC) program.
The program, created by the state of North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, is aimed at low- and moderate-income families whose homes were destroyed or damaged by the storm.
As of now, of the 3,809 active applications, only 38 are in the construction stage. Angélica and Christopher’s house is one of them.
Life in the camper
When FEMA declared the home uninhabitable, the family received a camper that they installed on the same property. For Angélica and Christopher, staying there was important: in some way, it still felt like home, and above all, they could remain with their pets.
At the time, they had two dogs — Luke and Bella — and two cats: Paul and Lieutenant. There was a third cat, Champagne, who did not survive the period after the hurricane. “A bear killed one of our cats. The poor animals were looking for an easy meal,” Angélica recalled.
Before receiving the camper, the family stayed in the house for three weeks. “We probably shouldn’t have done it,” Angélica said. In those first days, access roads were still blocked, there was no electricity or trash collection, and landslides were still occurring on their property.
Also read:
>> ICE, Puerto Rico and Bad Bunny: Migration, Raids and Dignity on an Island That Resists
Building a new home
They lived in the camper on the same property as their destroyed home for a year until, in November 2025, construction finally began under Renew NC. The first step was demolishing the old house.
With construction underway, they had to find another place to live. They faced a problem they had not anticipated: finding a place in the mountains willing to host them in winter with their camper. Most campgrounds close when cold weather arrives.
“We found a private property, a friend of a friend, where we could park the camper and try to prepare it for winter, because they’re not designed for living in during winter in the mountains,” Angélica said.
But there was a condition: they could not keep all their pets. That became one of their hardest decisions. They had to give Bella and the two cats to an animal shelter. All three were adopted by new families.
“It broke our hearts. It hurt a lot. But we still have Luke,” Christopher said.
For the past three months, they have been living in an Airbnb — a converted shed with a composting toilet — that their contractor found for them so they could stay there with Luke, the only pet they were able to keep after the hurricane.
There, they are waiting for construction of their new home to be completed so they can move in and resume the life that was put on hold 18 months ago.
A prayer answered
The house being built by Renew NC looks nothing like the one they lost. The program allowed them to choose from three models and select colors. They chose blue for the house: a midnight blue door, Angélica’s favorite color; light blue walls; and white trim. Inside, they chose black countertops and light gray walls.
The program also includes several appliances: a refrigerator, stove, microwave, and dishwasher. And something they had never had in 23 years — their own well. Previously, they shared a community well with neighbors.
The contractor, Galveston Poly Industry, based in Texas, has stayed in constant contact with them, answering any questions or concerns. “They make us feel like we’re their number one client,” Christopher said.
According to program documents, the new house is valued at $325,000. They also kept in mind Angélica’s father — 75, and using a cane — who lives with them but is currently in Mexico while construction is completed. The house will have an accessible shower for when he returns.
“Honestly, it’s an answer to a prayer I didn’t even dare to make,” Angélica said.
Now, all that remains is for them to receive the keys to their new home — becoming one of the first families in the program to move back into their own space, 18 months after the hurricane. “When we get the keys,” Christopher said, “we’ll be able to make that house our home.”
Renew NC: What the program is and how it works
The Renew NC Single-Family Housing Program was created by the state of North Carolina to assist low- and moderate-income families whose homes were destroyed or damaged by Hurricane Helene.
The program covers 28 counties in the western part of the state and offers rehabilitation, reconstruction, replacement, or reimbursement of homes. It prioritizes households with adults aged 62 or older, children under 18, or members with disabilities.
Since its launch, the program has received 7,924 applications. Of those, 3,809 are active, and only 38 are currently in the construction stage. The application deadline closed Jan. 31, 2026.
Enlace Latino NC requested a breakdown of applications by ethnicity. Of the 7,924 applications received, 231 were submitted by people who identified as Hispanic or Latino, compared with 4,469 from non-Hispanic or non-Latino applicants. A total of 683 preferred not to respond, and 2,541 left the question blank.
The program itself warns that these numbers should be interpreted with caution. Among the reasons applicants may have chosen not to identify are fear of sharing personal information in the current immigration climate, lack of awareness that the question was optional, or distrust about how the information would be used.
PODCAST
Después de la tormenta
Hace un año, el huracán Helene golpeó al oeste de Carolina del Norte. La comunidad latina respondió con algo más fuerte que la tormenta: solidaridad.
🎧 En este episodio, conoce cómo las organizaciones latinas transformaron la crisis en resiliencia.
▶️ ¡Dale play para escuchar!
Republique gratuitamente nuestras historias en su website o periódico. Seguimos la licencia de Creative Commons. Dele clic al recuadro, y siga las instrucciones.
