Eric Church Reflects On Hurricane Helene One Year Later, Announces Expansion Of ‘Blueprint For The Blue Ridge’ Housing Initiative: “It’s About Long-Term Hope”

Hard to believe it’s been a year.

On September 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene made landfall and devastated western North Carolina, as well as areas in surrounding states like South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. It brought unprecedented flooding to a part of the state that rarely gets hurricanes, and destroyed the business, homes and lives of so many people.

It’s hard to put into words just how catastrophic and horrific it was, and people in that part of the state will be recovering for decades to come.

But in the wake of the hurricane so many neighbors stepped up to help one another, and there was a silver lining of hope when people like Eric Church, alongside Luke Combs and others, helped raise over $24.5 million for residents in WNC with their Concert For Carolina benefit show.

Eric has gone onto start his Blueprint for the Blue Ridge initiative, which is the umbrella that his Blue Haven community is under, a neighborhood in Avery county which will be the new home of around 200 residents that lost everything.

It’s been a work in progress for months now, and Eric has already purchased more land in the area to start another similar neighborhood because the need is so high. It’s beyond incredible what he’s done to help ensure that the people who have called the mountains home for so many generations could stay there, and Eric shared a beautiful video today as we come to the anniversary of Helene about what Chief Cares is doing for locals.

He also announced that Blue Haven and his organization is now broadening its reach by expanding homeownership opportunities not only to those whose homes were directly impacted by the storm, but also to pillars of the community in educators, healthcare workers, first responders and others who selflessly serve Western North Carolina.

Chief Cares will offer mortgage-free homes to selected applicants, and Eric says his main goal is to keep the community intact:

“Keeping the community intact has been my goal all along. And what we’ve learned these past several months is that offering long-term housing to the people who hold our communities together—from those whose homes were impacted, to those who are critical to rebuilding—will bring the greatest impact.

We’re responding in real time to the evolving needs of Western North Carolina. Chief Cares is here for the long haul.”

Church wants to help those who are so important to their community, especially in times of devastation like following Helene, right where they’re needed and where they love to be.

He adds that it’s not just building homes for people who need it, but a longterm, very worthy, investment into the community:

“We’re not just building homes—we’re investing in the people that will carry this community forward for generations. This isn’t about short-term solutions. It’s about long-term hope.”

The first residents are expected to be in their homes before Thanksgiving, and as one woman in the below video put it, it feels like the weight of the world has been lifted from her shoulders.

Recipients of a Blue Haven home will live rent-free for ten years, where they’ll continue to invest in the community, and at the end of the ten-year term, the deed will be transferred, making the home fully theirs to own. It’s a unique model built on trust, dignity, and a shared investment in the future of this region.

The initiative is bolstered by a recent $6 million investment from AmeriHealth and the AMY Wellness Foundation, which will fund key infrastructure, wraparound services and expanded housing capacity across Avery, Mitchell and Yancey counties as Chief Cares continues to expand their relief efforts.

It brings tear to my eyes watching Eric, and the recipients of these homes, talk about how much it means to them and why they love the community so deeply.

The video tells the stories of several families who were directly impacted by Helene, and also features Eric talking about his own personal connection to the area and what his plans are to continue the Blue Print for the Blue Ridge initiative well into the future:

The post Eric Church Reflects On Hurricane Helene One Year Later, Announces Expansion Of ‘Blueprint For The Blue Ridge’ Housing Initiative: “It’s About Long-Term Hope” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.