North Carolina woman who helps those experiencing homelessness forced out of home by Helene

06:08

North Carolina resident left homeless by Helene continues to help others

Cindy Riley is a Hurricane Helene survivor and the Program Director of Hope for Tomorrow, a ministry that helps house homeless women and their children. After Helene flooded Riley's home, she was displaced, left to find a home through her ministry. Despite these challenges, she continues to help others impacted by the storm. 

BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. – Cindy Riley and her husband realized the morning after Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina how severe the storm had impacted their neighborhood.

Riley is the Program Director for Hope for Tomorrow, a program through Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry in Black Mountain that helps provide housing and training for women and their children, Riley said. 

Hope for Tomorrow, a program under Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry that helps woman and children experiencing homelessness. 

(Cindy Riley / FOX Weather)

Riley's job is to help people who have nowhere to go, and she found herself in the same situation when Hurricane Helene flooded her home, forcing her and her husband to evacuate. 

She said they woke up to no power in their home on Sept. 27, and it was raining. Riley said there was some flooding outside, but that wasn't unusual for her area. 

"All of a sudden we see water coming in our front door," she said. "Just a little bit at first. We were trying to block it with blankets and towels and whatever else we could find in the house." 

However, the situation escalated quickly. "Before we knew it, it (the water) was a foot high," Riley said. The pair worked as fast as they could to move some of their most precious items to higher ground within their home. 

"We had no idea it was going to wreak the havoc that it did for our home," she said. Riley said after manually opening the garage door, they ran to the car to leave. 

"Water was coming into the car. He (Riley’s husband) gunned it and backed out as fast as he could, with our neighbors yelling ‘Hurry, hurry! It’s getting into your car! It's coming to your tailpipe!'" Riley said. 

The couple only had to go two houses up the street to escape the flooding. "We just looked back and watched the water continue to rush into our home, and take the car I drove regularly and flood it," she said. 

HOW REBUILDING COMMUNITIES FROM HELENE FLOODS COME FROM THE MANY HANDS OF NONPROFITS, LOCAL BUSINESSES

The plan was for Riley and her husband to go to a Red Cross shelter in Swannanoa, but they found out it had also been evacuated. From there, they jumped into action helping neighbors help neighbors. 'We helped rescue elderly neighbors stuck in their homes," she said. 

Riley said throughout this process, she remembered she is a trained disaster relief chaplain, and she could be the chaplain on call for her neighborhood. So she helped in that way as well. 

Two days after the storm, Riley and her husband came to Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry, and they've been on the ground helping since. 

Cindy Riley delivers supplies to someone after Hurricane Helene

(Cindy Riley / FOX Weather)

"I think that was how I found comfort in the moment. I don't know what I can do to help myself, but I can give out a cup of water, I can listen to someone's story, I can give a hug, I can encourage my coworkers as they're doing the same thing I'm doing," she said. 

They've been taken care of, too. "We were immediately housed in a Hope for Tomorrow apartment," Riley said. 

Riley said Swannanoa has gotten a lot of help from neighboring communities and the government, but it's not finished yet. "It's going to be a long road, a really long road. So we appreciate anybody that hears our story," she said. 

Riley said the best way for people to help the communities of western North Carolina now is to donate to local organizations like Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry that will be on the ground for the long haul.