When Hurricane Helene overwhelmed the Swannanoa River with more than 20 feet of flooding, the Veterans Restoration Quarters, run by Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry, was ravaged.
“We're actually bordered on two sides by the Swannanoa River. So when the water came down the river really hard, it hit us really hard, too,” recalls Ruth Lolo, a volunteer coordinator with the shelter.
Residents, mostly homeless veterans, had only a few moments to gather their possessions before the National Guard evacuated them. Many lost priceless possessions, along with their sense of stability.
The facility provided around 160 homeless veterans with a place to sleep, find community and heal. Now, eight months after the storm, it faces a years-long recovery process.
Two auxiliary buildings, a maintenance shed and a clothing closet, had to be demolished entirely. And the main residential building needs substantial work.
“We had to rip out all our ceilings, flooring, walls, the electrical, the plumbing. It’s all coming out and going to be put in fresh. So it's going to be basically a brand new building when we build it back,” Lolo said.
Once construction begins, “we're looking at probably 18 to 24 months,” she said.
The ministry is currently working with FEMA to secure a construction manager for the site. In the meantime, 105 veterans have been relocated across the street at the Quality Inn, while others moved to more permanent residences, Lolo said.
The motel rooms at the Quality Inn cost the ministry $180,000 per month, Executive Director Scott Rogers said.
“Quality Inn is providing us a discounted rate,” he said. “And we’re absorbing all the costs… We’re gonna continue the program no matter what. The good news is that it’s not a financial strain because the cost of maintaining the usual 10-acre campus is expensive. So we’re doing fine.”
In November, Asheville Citizen-Times reported that it would cost around $13 million to repair the facility and the ministry’s goal was to reopen by Veterans Day.
That’s no longer the goal, Rogers said, and he “has no clue” what the final bill will total.
“We’re working with FEMA and a contractor estimated $13 million, but it could be more,” he said. “We’re currently advertising for a construction manager who will work with FEMA and us to renovate the facility in sections. So once the section is completed, we’ll get reimbursed.”
In the meantime, the ministry is doing its best to make the Quality Inn feel like home.
“There's definitely been some challenges. It's a lot smaller space that we're working in now,” Lolo said. “We don't have any big gathering rooms like we used to have at our original location. We also don't have our kitchen or dining room.”
But nonprofits are stepping in to help fill the gaps, she added.
Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian aid organization, donated an event tent where veterans can hang out and eat meals together. And Mercy Chefs, a nonprofit, has provided the majority of meals for residents.
“It’s been an absolute godsend,” Lolo said.
Mark Ricatelli is one of the veterans staying at the Quality Inn. Like many, his previous housing situation was upended by Helene. Countywide, the number of homeless people tripled in the last year, from 739 to 2,303.
Before the storm, Ricatelli had his own place in Swannanoa and was holding down jobs at Zaxby’s and Papa John’s. Both restaurants flooded. Ricatelli got behind on his bills, and he was “asked to leave.”
He said he’ll stay at the shelter until he receives a voucher from the Department of Housing and Urban Development that’ll allow him to get his own place again.
“A lot of the veterans that I know that went through the flood lost most everything, and a lot or all their possessions were in their rooms and it got flooded,” he said. “So, a lot of them are having to begin over again, you know?”
In times like these, he said, the Veterans Restoration Quarters is an essential service, which is why it’s so important the permanent space returns.
“Not only do they provide a place for veterans to sleep, but they provide classes and groups to deal with PTSD, with trauma, and all the stuff that basically creates a revolving door for veterans,” he said.
In the meantime, Ricatelli has found two new jobs: one at a pizza shop and another as a line cook at a bowling alley. In his free time, he and other veterans spend their days sitting under the donated tent on the property, smoking lots of cigarettes.
“We hang out there and just chat and tell stories and laugh. It’s a place to not have to be alone.”
