SALUDA, N.C. -- Soon, Ms. Singleton will move into a new home provided by the Renew NC Single-Family Housing Program. Reaching this milestone, she says, might not have been possible without the care and kindness of her case manager.
"I responded to this email [about Renew NC]," Ms. Singleton said. "This precious, precious young lady named Andrea Stanley ... She reassured me that she would stand right there with me and walk me through anything that I needed walked through."
A longtime Saluda resident, Ms. Singleton was home with her granddaughter and two great-grandchildren when Hurricane Helene struck in September 2024. Heavy rains poured through the chimney and down the interior walls, collecting several inches of water in the basement. More than 14 inches of rain fell in the small mountain town, according to the National Weather Service.
"I was terrified because there's electrical outlets on that wall. So, it's like, Lord, please don't let something like that start. And there was water everywhere," she said. "The gutters were doing the best they could."
The damage to her home was beyond her means to repair. In December 2025, Ms. Singleton turned to Renew NC for help and applied for the Single-Family Housing Program, a state-led, long-term disaster recovery initiative helping repair, replace and reconstruct homes damaged by Helene across 29 western North Carolina counties. Throughout the application process, Stanley was there to help answer questions and guide Ms. Singleton through each step.
"Anytime that I spoke to Andrea, she was very helpful. What she didn't have an answer for, she reassured me she would get an answer, and then she would respond in a few days and let me know," Ms. Singleton said. "She did a fabulous job."
One Friday in May, around 5 p.m., Ms. Singleton received an email from Renew NC informing her that she had been approved for assistance. In fact, she'd been approved a full reconstruction of her home. She wasn't quite sure what that meant, so she called Stanley.
"She said this means that they're going to tear your house down, and we're going to provide you a place to live, and then they're going to build you a new house," Ms. Singleton said. "And she said, and everything will be built better."
The news brought a mix of shock, disbelief and, eventually, peace. Ms. Singleton had lived in her home since it was built in 1984. It's where she and her husband raised their children and where they made many memories with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Saying goodbye to a place filled with so much family history wasn't easy. For comfort and guidance, Ms. Singleton turned to her faith.
"God gave me peace," she said. In addition to building the new home, Renew NC provided Ms. Singleton with temporary housing not far from her home. There, she said, she was able to adjust, to heal, and start looking forward to the new chapter.
"Walking out the door the last time. Yeah, there was tears," she said.
Now, with construction nearly complete, Ms. Singleton is looking ahead to the new home that awaits her. She chose the floor plan, colors, and other attributes; saying she loves the design. The new home will offer more room to move around, including space to accommodate a wheelchair. Accessibility features in the bathroom and a ramp connecting the front door to the parking pad will also make her everyday life easier.
And there's one other feature she's especially excited about: the porch. "I live out in the woods, and I love to be outside," she said. Ms. Singleton has a special name for her neck of the woods, too.
"I live on a little mountain, and it's called Safe Haven. It's just a little safe haven from the world."