When Hurricane Helene hit Asheville, Renny Todisco’s apartment was spared, thankfully, but the storm left scars in other ways. He had been working at Bold Rock Asheville, and by December, the downtown location permanently closed. Overnight, the steady job he relied on was gone.
“I didn’t know how my rent was going to get paid,” he said.
His lifeline came in an unexpected way. While sitting in on a local radio Q&A about storm recovery, Renny mentioned his housing struggles. Someone listening reached out and connected him to Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church.
In the wake of the storm, Grace Covenant became a powerhouse for housing relief, distributing more than $5.5 million in rent, mortgage, and utility assistance to over 2,500 people across Western North Carolina.
“They helped me for two months with my rent, which was unbelievable,” Renny said. “It was just a sigh of relief.”
The help couldn’t have come at a more critical moment—Renny was in a dark place. He’d canceled a long-awaited trip to see his mother, one of his cats was gravely ill, and he was grappling with past trauma.
“I spiraled hard,” he said. “I had to call a helpline, and then I checked myself into an outpatient program for mental health. I didn’t know how I was going to come back from it.”
Grace Covenant helped give him the stability to keep moving forward. “Honestly, I don’t know where I’d be without that help,” he said.
Today, Renny is back on his feet, managing one of the food outlets at Mission Hospital. But he knows many others are still struggling.
That’s where the Land of the Sky Association of Realtors comes in. This summer, LOTSAR partnered with Grace Covenant to launch the long-term Grace in Action Fund. This fund builds on the church’s vital work after the storm, extending relief beyond emergency aid and creating a path toward long-term housing stability for families across the region.
The need is undeniable. On one day alone in July, more than 110 people came to Grace Covenant for help, and by nightfall $67,000 in housing support had been distributed.
For neighbors like Renny, that support makes all the difference.
“I was very scared and alone after the storm,” Renny said. “Grace Covenant helped me get through it.”
Visit lotsar.org/grace to donate and learn more.
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