Helene's Aftermath: NC students displaced, learning disrupted a year after storm

Hurricane Helene displaced thousands of students in western North Carolina, with state data showing more than 2,500 students identified as homeless in the storm’s wake. A year after Helene’s floods, landslides and fierce winds, many students have returned to classrooms even as their families remain uprooted, a pattern seen across communities once considered climate havens in the region.

In the North Carolina mountains, recovery remains uneven. Cassandra Davis, a public policy professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said rural, low‑income families already face challenges such as food insecurity and rent pressure, and after Helene many do not get a real opportunity to recover. Bonnie Christine Goggins-Jones, a school bus aide with Asheville City Schools, watched her rental home flood to the point it became uninhabitable; she and her two teenage grandchildren spent months in her grandparents’ basement, then in a motel, in a donated camper and in another camper before moving into a new apartment in June. The Asheville area still faces a significant housing shortage a year after the storm.

America Sanchez Chavez, 11, had to split up with relatives to find housing after Helene left their Swannanoa trailer uninhabitable; FEMA money wasn’t enough to cover renovations. America and some relatives stayed at her grandmother’s apartment, while her older brother lived at a friend's house. Eventually, America moved with her mother to a room at a Black Mountain hotel where she works. She remains frightened by heavy rain.

Helene damaged more than 73,000 homes and disrupted electricity and water for weeks, straining infrastructure and forcing schools to close for long stretches, with snow days adding to the tally of missed classroom time. In rural Yancey County, about 18,000 residents, students missed more than two months of school last year. After disasters, many students live in temporary arrangements such as sleeping on a couch, staying in a shelter or doubling up with another family; those arrangements count as homeless under federal law. In Helene’s aftermath, homelessness among students rose in several hard‑hit counties, with Yancey County’s count climbing from 21 to 112 last school year; most were homeless because of Helene. Some students enrolled in other districts or did not return.

Districts can access McKinney-Vento funding to support homeless students, including transportation and tutoring; but the funding is competitive, and districts cannot request more money immediately after a disaster until the next cycle. Helene‑impacted students accounted for at least a fifth of the homeless population in 16 counties, but only six counties received McKinney-Vento funding in the last cycle. Nationally, about one in five school districts receive McKinney-Vento funding, and advocates say disasters can overwhelm districts that miss funding. Officials warn that disasters often involve districts that don’t receive McKinney-Vento money.

Gwendolyn Bode, a pre‑law student at Appalachian State University, faced housing upheaval after Helene. She left a mud‑wrecked apartment complex when campus housing was unavailable, found an Airbnb until FEMA housing was approved, and then moved into a hotel. She said she felt overwhelmed as she tried to balance classes and a part‑time job, and stability came later when she moved into an apartment in the spring.

For Natalie Briggs, who is now 13, the loss of nearly everything and the crowded conditions in her grandparents’ basement weighed on her. Visiting the ruins of her home, she recalled how she and her mother navigated the aftermath while she also tried to keep up with school. The stress has at times spilled into school life, with periods when she preferred not to engage with others about the topic. Her mother, Liz Barker, said the stress stretched daily life, though she notes that Natalie has shown more affection in the months since the disaster as they work through the grieving process together.

Across the country, experts say the Helene experience fits a larger climate‑driven pattern of housing instability after disasters. Analyses show homelessness spikes after events such as Maria in Puerto Rico and Maui wildfires in Hawaii. AP’s analysis finds homelessness among students rose in Helene’s aftermath in several western North Carolina counties.

Educators and researchers say the pattern highlights the need for sustained support long after the initial response and rebuilding. UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools found that post‑disaster living changes often translate into disruptions in attendance, stability and learning, underscoring the importance of ongoing programs for homeless students.

AP’s education coverage receives support from multiple private foundations. The reporting is part of a collaborative project with Blue Ridge Public Radio, Honolulu Civil Beat, CalMatters and Centro de Periodismo Investigativo in Puerto Rico to examine how school communities recover from natural disasters and what it takes to keep students on track.