ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Following the devastation Hurricane Helene wrought on the Western North Carolina community, one North Asheville church worked tirelessly with the community to raise millions of dollars for housing relief.

“It started pretty much right after the hurricane hit. We opened our doors and we just said we were gonna be there with the community and try to be supportive in any way that we can,” said Marcia Mount Shoop, pastor at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church. “Within a few days, we saw that rent was a big issue and we had like hundreds of people lined up at our door every day needing rent support.”

Grace Covenant, located at 789 Merrimon Ave., would go on to donate $5.5 million in rent support, utility bill assistance and free meals to thousands of people in the months following the storm. Nearly a year later, as WNC approaches the anniversary of Helene hitting the region, need for housing assistance in the community is still growing.

Forming Grace in Action

With their funding now exhausted, Grace Covenant turned back to the community for help.

“One of our members actually brought the opportunity for this partnership to us,” said Rachel Brown, president of the Land of the Sky Association of REALTORS.

LOTSAR is a local nonprofit dedicated to promoting fair housing and supporting over 2,000 REALTORS between Asheville and Brevard, N.C.

Following Helene, LOTSAR was able to contribute $1.2 million into housing support for the storm-impacted community. For the nonprofit, that meant not only getting people back into their homes, but providing the support to keep them there.

“It’s about people’s rights to housing. And then, once people are in homes, giving them every availability and chance to stay in those homes,” Brown explained. “That was our focus after Helene in giving back to the community.”

On July 22, 2025, Grace Covenant combined their network of short-term assistance with LOTSAR’s experience with long-term support to form a collaborative housing initiative: the Grace in Action Fund.

Grace in Action is intended to transition households in need from relying on short-term relief to planning for long-term recovery.

According to a press release about the fund, Grace in Action is intended to benefit those still seeking assistance with housing, including “tourism and service workers whose hours haven’t returned to pre-storm levels, families still living with storm damage and long-overdue repairs, seniors and caregivers facing rising utility bills and renters and homeowners facing the threat of displacement.”

“The rebuilding efforts are ongoing and so is the struggle for so many in our community,” said Brown. “The focus for this Grace in Action Fund is on rent, mortgage and utility emergency assistance.”

Receiving grace

If you are in need of housing assistance, there are several ways to apply for help through Grace in Action.

“One is you just reach out to us at Grace Covenant, especially people who have court eviction papers,” said Shoop. “Another is that we are open to rent support at regular intervals. Starting this fall, we’ll be open every second Tuesday and Thursday of the month.”

Grace Covenant can be reached by phone at (828) 254-3274 or via contact form at www.gcpcusa.org/contact.

If you would like to contribute to Grace in Action, you can donate here. According to the fund website, every $1,650 provides a month of rent for a family in need.

One member of the community who has benefitted from the generosity of Grace Covenant is Micah Taylor Hayes, a fair chance employment advocate with Operation Gateway. After the storm, Hayes spent weeks delivering supplies and coordinating with community organizers like Grace Covenant. Six weeks after Helene, Hayes’ car was hit with thousands of dollars of damage from a storm-ravaged road.

“My car broke down big time and I had to choose between paying my mortgage or paying several thousand dollars in repairs on my car, not to mention just finding someone that could repair it during that time,” Hayes recalled. “I reached out to Brett at Grace Covenant and was like, man, I’m in a tough spot. Like, you know I still work in the community, but this could level me out, too, and then I wouldn’t be able to resource navigate or help anyone else.”

Grace Covenant was able to assist Hayes with his car repairs, allowing the community leader to continue his work in the region. As a helper himself, it was initially difficult for Hayes to receive help when he needed it. However, he is now a champion for the aid Grace in Action can provide.

“The Grace in Action Fund, it’s not just charity. It reminds people that housing is a right,” Hayes said. “The hurricane didn’t discriminate. Why would we discriminate based on other factors that are in normal situations? Because this is a very abnormal situation.”

Hayes is one of many who have found deep community connection through Grace Covenant. Shoop explained that every housing case the church has taken on always began with honoring the humanity of those behind it.

“It’s been a wonderful blossoming of right relationships and community,” Shoop said.

“We take care of each other by really spending time listening to each other. We try to laugh every day, we cry every day, we just really try to be real together and that is part of why we’ve been able to do what we’ve done, because people come in and they feel it. They feel that they are welcome as a human being, as a full person, and that they will experience dignity and compassion, but it’s not demeaning. It’s not that oh, you’re a big burden or a problem. It’s like, okay, welcome home. We’re your people here.”

For more information about the Grace in Action Fund, visit www.gcpcusa.org/ways-to-give/giving/grace-in-action-fund.

CORRECTION – 11:15 a.m., Sept. 3, 2025: We corrected two typos in the copy. “Compassion,” not “compass,” and “right,” not “bright,” in the final Shoop quote.