Mountain Alliance delivered a prebuilt home to lifelong Franklin resident Madeline Maynard and her 17-year-old son Wednesday, replacing a family home that had been destroyed by Hurricane Helene in 2024. The delivery represents the beginning of the end for Maynard’s nine-month period of homelessness after the storm landed.
Mountain Alliance is a nonprofit aligned with WNC Strong, formed to help those in Western North Carolina suffering damages from Hurricane Helene to rebuild. The group’s Homes for Hope campaign sought to build, fund and deliver pre-built homes in partnership with Splendid Living to those who lost their homes to the storm across the region. So far the organization has donated six homes and is looking to expand.
Maynard said her home had suffered “tree damage, a lot of water damage” when the storm hit and has been staying with her sister since.
“It took me a while to admit I needed help,” she said. Maynard then reached out to FEMA for funds and was further assisted by Mission Health CEO Clint Kendall and Mountain Alliance.
Maynard, who is the environmental services manager at the hospital, said Kendall “is my savior … he helped me out so much, pointing me in the right direction and to the right people.”
Maynard said she has lived on that mountain, close to the Ingles on Sylva Road, all her life. As workers helped to maneuver her new home onto the plot, she mused how a quick trim of the growth on her property could bring a clear view of the mountains to her new front windows.