When Hurricane Helene swept through Western North Carolina, UNC Asheville student Jimmy Lytle’s job as a supervisor of an afterschool program vanished overnight, leaving him with no income.
“I was waiting for Hurricane Helene support [through the government],” Jimmy says. “But once I got the money, it still wasn’t enough because my rent is around $1,000 each month.”
The challenges didn’t stop there. Jimmy’s apartment building was without power for more than two months. With no electricity or reliable internet, every school assignment became a hurdle—another layer of stress stacked on top of his mounting financial strain.
When the weight of it all became too much, Jimmy reached out to Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Asheville.
In the immediate aftermath of Helene, the church became a hub for emergency housing relief, distributing more than $5.5 million in rent, mortgage, and utility assistance to over 2,500 people across 12 WNC counties. Jimmy was one of those people.
“Other programs had so many requirements,” he says. “Grace Covenant made it easy. It was a blessing.”
But what struck Jimmy the most was the love he witnessed. “I came twice to the church, and the line was packed,” he remembers. “They were helping people for hours and hours—every race, every nationality.”
Recognizing the scale of need, the Land of the Sky Association of REALTORS® (LOTSAR) partnered with Grace Covenant this summer to launch the Grace in Action Fund. While emergency aid offered immediate relief in the storm’s aftermath, this new fund is focused on long-term housing stability—helping families stay afloat well beyond the crisis.
Today, nearly a year after Hurricane Helene, the demand is still overwhelming. On a single day in July, as an example, more than 100 people came to Grace Covenant seeking help, and by the afternoon, $67,000 in housing support had been distributed. In many cases, help was needed immediately to help keep people safely housed.
For Jimmy, that kind of support made all the difference. Thanks to Grace Covenant, he is on track to graduate from UNC Asheville this December with degrees in health science and psychology. And while he isn’t fully certain of his career path, he knows one thing for sure: He wants to help others.
“Grace Covenant helped me stay afloat when I needed it most,” he said. “It was good to know that kind of support is really out there.”
Visit lotsar.org/grace to donate and learn more.
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