Sharon Johnson, Senior Communications Leader/Journalist

It's a sleepy little town with Catholic Charities visitors going there every 4th Friday of the month to distribute healthy groceries to our Senior neighbors in Fair Bluff, NC.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, people 85 and older will have the fastest growth in the next 20 years. Catholic Charities is working to keep up with serving that growing community.

From the rotted wood to the mold and a leaking roof, Debbie McClain’s home shows the force of nature and the facts of poverty. She said water damage to the wood caused the flooring to collapse, sending her through the floor and rushed to the hospital.
McClain said, “I would pray about it, and pray about it, Like Lord I need some help, I don’t know what to do. I tried to ask for help from different people. And it was no kind of help. It’s like I was reaching out and begging. But it was like I wasn’t being heard. So, I just prayed to the Lord… just to LET SOMEBODY HEAR ME!” And touch somebody to hear me so that I won’t have to live the way I’m living.”
Debbie McClain said she has survived more hurricanes than she’d like to remember and said the wounds of poverty may never go away. “Living in poverty like we do. Some people don’t know how rough it is to be able to get the things you need.”
Her needs include safe and healthy housing. Her 30-year-old mobile home has been battered by time and storms, with the most damage coming from Hurricane Florence in 2018.
But the winds of change began this year with the January groundbreaking of Debbie’s new tiny house.
Catholic Charities Cape Fear Regional Construction Manager Brian King said her mobile home was “basically falling down around her.”
“This home has been impacted by several hurricanes and the storms in between that. With extensive floor repair needing to be done, roof repair, and wall repair. You weigh out the battle of what repair cost is versus replacement costs.,” said King.
McClain said she tried to get help to repair the mobile home but was rejected time after time. She said she wanted to give up.
“I did give up a couple of times, I was like I don’t know what else to do, I’m just done. And I was sitting in this house, this broke down house and a bird kept tapping on my window, tapping on my window. I was just sitting there like, is this real? And it was. I felt like it was a message to me from the Heavenly Father, letting me know it’s going to be ok. And not long after that, they got up with me and everything went from there.”
Everything went from there – from a place of ruin to refuge. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh’s Cape Fear Regional staff took on Debbie’s situation. The team determined it was more cost effective to build a tiny home from the ground up rather than repair the decades old trailer.
Catholic Charities’ construction manager said, “this will be our first tiny home project. To be able to move into something that’s a lot healthier and a lot safer, is one of the most amazing things.”
The CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Raleigh said she hopes the family now feels supported by the community. “People who experience disasters or people who experience homelessness can often get caught up in cycles where they, for years, must deal with the consequences of the storm or lack of affordable housing or whatever it is. I feel like us being around to stick through that with them is what we should be doing as an organization,” said CEO Lisa Perkins.
Debbie’s journey to safe and healthy housing is a community collaboration with volunteers like the team from AmeriCorps’ National Civilian Community Corps (N-Triple-C). Catholic Charities Director of Disaster Services and communications Daniel Altenau said the tiny home build is a new beginning for the family and a new opportunity for Catholic Charities to impact the community.
“In 5 to 6 months from now there’s going to be a home for a family that’s been waiting 5 years to have a safe and stable home. It’s just special to know that we’re part of that family’s journey, said Altenau.
Private donors and Legal Aid are among the partners making Debbie’s tiny home possible. Cape Fear Regional Disaster Specialist Vickie Sasser said, “the single wide mobile home was in her father’s name, so we had to collaborate with legal aid to get a deed actually executed into the resident’s name.”
The Cape Fear Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP) also partnered with Catholic Charities for the tiny home build. HOP is the nation’s first program to evaluate the impact of providing non-medical interventions related to food, housing, transportation, and safety.
Emilie Hart, Cape Fear’s Regional Director, explained the impact. “When you’re together and in a safe place, everything in your life changes, your health, your mental health, all those things. I’m just glad to be a part of this journey.”
From ruin to refuge - Debbie’s journey of faith and renewal with Catholic Charities. “For them to help me, means more to me than anything in the world,” McClain said.

Catholic Charities Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion video highlighting the Engage IDEAs series and reviewing it's purpose... for staff viewing.

Volunteers playing Santa and making Christmas brighter for hundreds of kids!
Catholic Charities Tar River Regional Office in Greenville helped make Christmas brighter for 658 kids during Christmas 2023. The community was a huge support and made it possible for staff and volunteers to distribute new coats, Barnes & Noble gift cards, toys, books, toothbrushes, and toothpaste to families!

Anchor/Reporting