North Carolina Governor Josh Stein handed over keys to a rebuilt home in Leicester on Thursday, marking the 1,250th residence repaired or rebuilt through a state recovery program following Hurricane Helene.
Dennis Fultz, a Leicester homeowner who lost his house of 10 years to the hurricane, received the new home through Renew NC's Single-Family Housing Program. "Getting families back into safe housing that they can afford is essential to long-term recovery," Governor Stein said.
The state program, administered through the Department of Commerce's Division of Community Revitalization, has completed more than 150 homes, with 167 in construction and more than 600 in pre-construction. North Carolina established its housing recovery program faster than any other state affected by Hurricane Helene, the governor's office said.
Governor Stein continues to push for additional federal support to accelerate recovery. He is advocating for a $10 billion appropriation from Congress, including $3 billion from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development specifically to rebuild homes.
Other recovery efforts include a $55 million federal infrastructure resilience program for local governments and $70 million for multi-family rental construction. In August, Governor Stein announced 10 new multi-family projects that will develop 828 new rental units in western North Carolina. The state has appropriated more than $3 billion to overall recovery efforts since taking office in January 2025.