Hi my name is David, my dear Cousin's Marianne's home was flooded ​in 2018 by Hurricane Florence here in NC. After she suffered a stroke in 2017, I was her sole 24/7 caregiver for almost five years. In 2019, FEMA was supposed to repair her home and they bailed. In 2020, we entered the ReBuildNC/HUD​ program to repair her home. Sadly, Cousin Marianne passed away in 2022 never being able to go back home. The photo is of Cousin Marianne and me in happier times.

ReBuildNC/HUD as part of the program was to pay me a stipend for rent and storage until I was back in my home. They recently removed me from the program without cause and stopped the stipend and storage payments so now I am facing foreclosure of my Hurricane Florence Flooded home, eviction from my temporary apartment, and ​auction this week of all my belongings in storage through no fault of my own. ReBuildNC/HUD still has not responded to my legal​ly filed appeal that I submitted back in March 2025. Yes, there are thousands of us here in Eastern North Carolina who still are displaced, some going on nine and seven years!

Please pray for me and also for my friend Tammy who is in a similar situation with ReBuildNC in SENC and also for the thousand of others here in ENC who are still displaced/homeless since Hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018). Also, please keep the good people of WNC in your prayers as the State of NC is headed down the same path that they did here in ENC.  

I apologize for asking, but if anyone is able to assist, I would greatly appreciate it. Once I receive the stipend and storage from ReBuildNC/HUD, I will pay it forward​ to help others. Many Thanks. Sincerely, David

Note: This would have never been necessary had Cooper, Stein, Buffaloe, Hogshead, Arlyn, Gibson, and their cohorts done their jobs properly years ago. This present crisis could have been avoided had NC Rep. Steve Tyson and NC Sen. Bob Brinson properly did their jobs in the past four months.

Storage: $3,250.00 [Through July 2025] if it is not paid in cash by Wednesday, June 25, 2025 then it goes to auction on June 27, 2025. Whatever they sell it for will be applied to the bill and they will sue me for the rest plus court costs and lawyer fees. I asked them for another month's grace to get this worked out, but the owner, a former mayor of New Bern, refused. It is estimated with court and lawyer fees to be about $5,500.00 if I am not able to pay it by this Wednesday.

Property Taxes: $1,397.47. They will add a $2,000.00 non-refundable collection fee to this if it is not paid forthwith. The lawyer's letter said that it was to be added, but no date.

Rent: $2,640.00 [Through July 2025]. The landlord has been working with me which I appreciate. I have cleaned an apartment for them which paid the late fee for one month so they have not started the eviction process, but next week I will be three months behind and I don't think they will give me much more time which I understand. I have tried to find work both locally and online, but I can barely function at this point with all the stress and having to deal with ReBuildNC on a daily basis. I have not had a moment's rest since November of last year and have not been able to concentrate on anything, but trying to save my life. I cannot move back to Cousin Marianne's as it is not livable.

Mortgage: $1,405.28 [Through July 2025]. It will soon go into the foreclosure process if it is not brought current. They call me at least twice a day. I spoke with them and they said if I could just get it back into the 60 days past due that would stop any foreclosure.

Total: $8,692.75 - $1,000.00​ = $7,692.75

ReBuildNC/HUD owes me $17,840.00 in unpaid stipend and storage through July 2025. I had budgeted out what they said I would receive each month with what little money I had to make ends meet since the stipend and storage began last summer, but it has not been easy as the stipends never arrived on time. I would have never needed any of the stipend and storage assistance had they done their jobs in a proper and timely manner. I have never been on the dole in my entire life. This has totally bankrupted me after seven long years. I was Cousin Marianne's sole 24/7 caregiver for almost six years with no assistance or backup.

I was doing everything I could to solve it on my own with the Lord's help. One cousin sent me $1,000.00 for which I am thankful and grateful. My family and friends have been kind and generous to Cousin Marianne and me over the years, but they are not in a position to help, which I understand. I would not be in this position if ReBuildNC and Steve Tyson and Bob Brinson had done their jobs properly. On top of all this, about two months ago my car transmission went out.

Hurricane Florence Survivor Died While Awaiting NC Aid, Nov 2024

This is the article that exposed what ReBuildNC had done to Cousin Marianne and me. It led to me being kicked out of the program because I went to my elected officials and the media.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article294900559.html

Many Thanks, David