Renew NC aids Helene survivors with housing repairs
The Renew NC Housing Rebuild Program is now open to help survivors of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina repair or rebuild their homes. Eligible applicants can apply online, by phone (1-888-791-0207), via a mobile app, or in person at designated offices in Asheville, Boone, or Marion. The program prioritizes those in the most impacted counties and with unresolved housing damage. Applicants must provide documentation of income, residency, ownership, and storm-related damage. Applications for single-family homes are open through the end of 2025. Multi-family housing aid is not yet available.
Legal Aid NC Helpline
Toll-Free: 1 (866) 219-LANC (5262)
8:30 AM – 4:00 PM, Monday – Friday
Apply for free help with civil (non-criminal) legal issues.
Recovery Resources
Request Crisis Cleanup assistance
Crisis Cleanup assists with issues like downed trees, debris, tarps, and mucking out
Find shelters
Call the American Red Cross at 1-800-733-2767
View road conditions
View and report power outage information
Identify open pharmacies
By county: https://www.ncpharmacyfinder.com/
Emergency Operating Pharmacies Helene: https://www.ncbop.org/emergencyoperatingpharmacieshelene.html
Locate loved ones
Call 211 for reunification services
For Buncombe County, contact the Register of Deeds at 828-820-2761 or visit BuncombeReady.gov
Submit the Red Cross form here: https://www.redcross.org/get-help/disaster-relief-and-recovery-services/contact-and-locate-loved-ones/hurricane-helene-reunification.html
Shelter and Supplies
Call 211
Mental Health Support
Call or text 988 for 24/7 free and confidential support
FNS Benefits
Buy Hot Food with Your EBT Card – From October 4 to November 3, 2024, you can use your EBT card to buy hot meals at participating SNAP/FNS retailers. This is available to everyone with FNS benefits across the state.
Automatic Replacement of Benefits If you live in one of 23 counties affected by power outages from the hurricane, you will get 70% of your September FNS benefits back. You don’t have to do anything—this money is already on your EBT card to help replace food you lost. The counties included are: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey counties.
If you live in Catawba and Clay County you have extra time to report lost food because of Hurricane Helene, you have until October 26, 2024 to tell your local Department of Social Services (DSS).
Sign up to volunteer
Assistance Now
Legal Aid of North Carolina can help immediately after the storm:
- Provide survivors with information about their rights
- Answer questions about insurance and claims
- Advocate for people when they are applying for recovery fund assistance and appealing decisions
Benefits and Appeals / FEMA
- Access assistance
- Appeal decisions
- Recoupment
Long-Term Support
Housing
Homeowners – Assistance with insurance policies, recovery appeals, proving property ownership, avoiding foreclosure and mortgage issues, providing information on rights, and more.
Renters – Recovery appeals, evictions, lease terminations, landlord/tenant disputes, understanding renters rights and insurance policies, providing additional legal help during disaster recovery, and more.
Assist Long-Term Recovery Groups
- 501(c)(3) non-profit incorporation
- Provide general guidance to groups navigating the disaster relief ecosystem
Support Victims of Fraud
- Resources and assistance to avoid fraud
- Help fraud victims file a claim
Self-Help Resource Library
Check out the resource library on Legal Aid’s website at legalaidnc.org/disaster that includes 50+ videos with information on a range of disaster topics including replacing lost documents, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, property taxes, and more.
Additional Resources
- Find assistance with damaged private roads and bridges – Did you know that if you have a private road or bridge that was damaged or destroyed by Tropical Storm Helene, there may be assistance available to help you repair or rebuild? FEMA may provide some monetary assistance to you as part of the Individual and Households Program for home repair assistance. If you are having trouble with this process, Legal Aid of NC can help with FEMA appeals and in preparing necessary documentation. In addition, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety has launched the North Carolina Private Road and Bridge Program to assist property owners with damage to their property access. Click here to learn more.
- Disaster Energy Assistance Available to 25 Counties Impacted by Hurricane Helene to Help with Heating Costs and Repairs During Winter Beginning Jan. 15 – Households can apply for both LIEAP and the Disaster Energy Assistance funding. Households with heating services or systems that require repairs, are currently inoperable, have been disconnected or are at risk of having their services disconnected can also apply for the Disaster Energy Assistance funds. Click here to learn more.
Rental Assistance
LANC Resource Library
- Learn more about the Disaster Relief Project
- Learn more about FEMA
- Tenant’s Rights After a Natural Disaster
- Avoid Scams and Frauds
- Learn more about Pet Care during a natural disaster
- Learn more about Insurance Claims and Appeals
- Hurricane Helene Disaster Food Assistance (D-SNAP)
- Insurance Claims and Appeals
For Kids
Disaster Relief Coloring Book
Videos
Donate
Donations to our disaster response support mobile legal clinics, additional staff for dedicated disaster hotline intake, support for our pro bono program preparing cases to volunteer lawyers, and other emerging needs. Your donation can be the lifeline that helps a family rebuild. Please consider giving today: Donate to Legal Aid NC
Pro Bono
Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Disaster Relief Project provides information, advice, and representation to disaster survivors, but the legal needs after Hurricane Helene far outweigh our resources. We are proud to partner with the NC Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division, the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide pro bono legal services, and we need your help.
If you are an attorney, please sign up here to volunteer.