NORTH CAROLINA, USA — For those who un-expectedly lost it all, a simple shelter comes with a lot of emotions.
"I don't think there's been not one time that I've delivered a camper and I've given hugs, that we haven't both cried," recalled Eric Robinson, Co-Founder of Operation Helo.
After Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina, Operation Helo was born.
"We ended up flying in over 2 million pounds of supplies, we ran over 2,000 missions and we pulled or evacuated over 400 people," Robinson explained.
In the weeks following Helene, roads re-opened, the weather cooled, and the operation shifted to hauling in campers. Robinson said they buy the campers with private donations. Businesses help out by offering a discount, dropping the price to about $15,000 each.
The non-profit talks to local fire departments in places like Burnsville and Pensacola to find out who needs campers.
"They normally will go out and kind of put eyes on everything for us. Just to make sure that it's a total loss or, or the living conditions are not to where it can be inhabited," Robinson explained.
At the end of a yearlong lease, Robinson said the campers will be signed over for the occupants to either keep or sell.
"We are committed to getting every family that we can help out of the cold and into somewhere where they at least have shelter and heat and a bed. We're gonna do that until we get to the last family, or we run out of money," exclaimed Robinson.
Robinson said so far, it's gotten out 54 campers to those in need.
FEMA is also helping people who've lost their homes. The agency has put up 3,500 families in hotels through its sheltering program, it plans to place travel trailers in western North Carolina, but those details are still being finalized.
