Volunteer effort hooks up displaced WNC residents with temporary housing
This truck, owned by Iowa resident Lavon Schwartz, pulled a fifth-wheel camper all the way from Chicago to Western North Carolina to be used by a family whose house was rendered uninhabitable by the flood. Kyle Perrotti photo
As the recovery from the flooding disaster brought on by Hurricane Helene transitions to a different phase with more long-term priorities, housing solutions have become a major focus of volunteers still looking to lend a helping hand.
Such is the case for Lorelei Garnes in Haywood County. Garnes, who runs a digital marketing business, has carved out about 40 hours from her already busy weeks to connect those whose homes were rendered uninhabitable with a temporary solution in the form of a camper. Since she began the effort, campers have arrived from all over the country. As of now, 25 campers have been brought in, and Garnes said there are about 60 families that she knows of that still need a semi-permanent housing option.
Once Garnes connects a family in need with a camper, they find a lot to place it with hopes that it can be a permanent spot. An average lot rental, according to Garnes, is $550 to $900 depending on whether utilities are included.
The campers have been sourced from a number of entities, including private donors, Mountain Projects, The United Cajun Navy, Hope for Crisis and BeLoved Asheville. They have come from all over the country with volunteers spending their own time and money to drive them in. Garnes is personally vetting RVs to make sure they are habitable and functional, while also working to pair the right campers with the right families. For example, a family of four will need a much larger camper than a single adult. In addition, Garnes looks at which lots might work for camper placement.
“A lot of the land people want to donate is flat and would work fine, but there’s no sceptic and water or old septic and water,” Garnes said. “In most cases, when the RV is brought in, a generator and propane provides electrical power until they can be plugged into the grid.”
Like many community recovery efforts, Garnes’ work has relied on word on mouth, but she’s also been able to tap into her professional network to raise awareness with hopes to reach both donors and families in need. Beloved Asheville has become a crucial partner, and another digital marketer out of Ohio named Jonas Troyer has leveraged his network to reach people looking to either donate a trailer or drive a donation down.
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One such person was Iowa resident Lavon Schwartz, who said he’s known Troyer for years and was looking to help people in Western North Carolina. When he saw that Troyer was looking for drivers to deliver donated campers, he leapt at the opportunity. In Schwartz’ case, he met up with a family from Wisconsin in Chicago to transfer a camper. Schwartz hopped in the Ford F-450 he uses for his construction job and hit the road, driving clear through to the morning when he arrived in Haywood County.
“I just wanted to do what I could, and this seemed like the thing to do,” Schwartz said.
Lorelie Garnes, second from the right, has worked to connect families in need with campers. Donated photo
In addition to working with other nonprofits, Garnes has received donations from businesses and individuals in the area, including local realtor Michelle Moyer, owner of Hooked Properties Solutions, who donated several months’ worth of lot rent for people living in the donated campers.
Garnes is still seeking people willing to donate money for those lot rents. She said that instead of accepting money, she prefers to have someone either donate to Mountain Projects or even just pay the landlord directly.
“So far, we have almost three lots paid for for six months, and then what we're doing is applying it over the year, so when we split that cost, instead of $900 a month, people are paying $450 a month for a year,” she said. “That's not such a hard hit, but it cuts their rent in half for the first year, which is helping a lot, because they've lost everything — clothes, everything. Plus, they spent a lot of money just trying to maneuver around through this for the last month.”
Garnes began dabbling in this kind of work after Tropical Storm Fred caused catastrophic flooding in the Canton in August 2021. Like many in Haywood County, that work helped prepare her for the complex mission still unfolding in the months after Helene. These efforts are also shaping a long-term vision born over the last few years as she’s watched the affordable housing problem get worse for local residents. She has an 18-acre lot, located in the Clyde area, in mind that she thinks could accommodate 35 affordable housing units, most likely tiny homes.
“My goal would be to have those houses rent for $500 a month,” she said.
Garnes plans on kicking off a fundraiser at some point to raise the $699,000 needed to buy that plot of land for her dream affordable housing project. She said she also hopes that after building a partnership during Helene recovery that BeLoved Asheville will also help out with that endeavor.
“We just need to have our heads screwed on straight,” Garnes said. “We have to say, ‘we’re going to really do this.’ No more excuses.”
Anyone interested in donating a camper or funds to go toward rent or RV winterization can reach out to Garnes by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
