Two years after Helene, about 15% of active Renew NC rebuilds are done or underway. The state says federal aid won't cover the need.

Two years after Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, some families still are not back in their homes, WRAL Investigates reports. The state's Renew NC Single-Family Housing program, created to rebuild, repair and replace storm-damaged homes, has taken 7,924 applications, most of them now inactive or deemed ineligible. As of Sept. 25 it had 2,211 active applications, and 329 of those, about 15%, were complete or under construction: 159 finished and 170 being built. The rest are working through stages that include pre-construction (634), environmental review (317) and quality control review (201). The program gives priority to households with children, seniors over 62, people with disabilities, low- to moderate-income families and the hardest-hit counties. "We know the unmet housing need for western North Carolinians recovering from Hurricane Helene is greater than what is currently in the Renew NC pipeline," spokesperson Sean Rowe told WRAL. "All indications are that existing federal funding will not be enough to address the full scope of the single- and multifamily housing needs across western NC." Renew NC runs on a federal disaster recovery grant from HUD, and Kathie Dello, the state's assistant secretary for resilience, said, "The federal government hasn't necessarily kept pace with some of the money that they've promised North Carolina." Gov. Josh Stein's office says the state has appropriated more than $3 billion for recovery and added $35 million for volunteer groups repairing more than 1,100 homes. WRAL notes progress is faster than under Rebuild NC, the program that left many waiting years after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. Why it matters at home: after the storm comes the paperwork. If you or a neighbor has a Renew NC application, check its stage on the program's online dashboard, answer every request quickly and keep copies of everything you send.