MARSHALL, North Carolina -- The town of Marshall North Carolina has around 800 people who call it home. In the town is a small one-street community called Rollins, it sits right on the banks of the French Broad river. Its beautiful view of the river turned deadly when Helene flooded this small mountain town a few months ago.
"Friday, September 27th, Helene laid her mark on this town, a beautiful town and the water rose very quickly," Aaron Haynie, Mayor of Marshall said. "Within the city limits, there's a community called Rollins, It's got about 25 homes on it, all of them were flooded out. Several of them were washed away. We had one fatality in the community of Rollins, which was unfortunate because it's such a tight-knit community."
Rollins is Jennifer Greene's hometown. Since Helene hit, she has become a leader in the recovery efforts of the community she knows and loves.
"It's just a beautiful little little street that is hidden on the French Broad River on the outside of Marshall," Greene said. "I can remember coming up here as a 6 and 7 year old child with my brothers and my cousins and everything. We'd all meet at her [grandma's] house. We'd have bonfires and we'd sing and play in the river."
She sees first-hand how the river she once played in changed her home and her life.
"I love looking at it and I love listening to it, but I have a lot of respect for her because I know what water damage and what this river can do and what it can change in no time whatsoever," Greene said.
Now, she wonders what the future of her community will look like.
"We have had to take a deep breath and realize that our community is never gonna be the same again, is never gonna look the same again," Greene said.
The floodwaters uprooted trees and dumped tons of sand on what used to be a grassy shoreline.
"Now we come out the front door all the way up and down the street and there's nothing but sand." Greene said. "So it's like we are at the beach and we want to get rid of the sand. We want our grass back."
Damage from the storm destroyed eight homes in the neighborhood, including the place where Jennifer grew up.
"It's just unbelievable what's gone, this is the remains of my house and my cousins mobile home," Greene said. "Who would have ever thought this would be your home in these pieces like this and everything is, I don't know, I just can't, can't, I can't believe it."
While much of the attention went to larger cities like Asheville, Jennifer says communities like hers should not be left behind.
"This is where most of the people live, that make Asheville what Asheville is because a lot of people come out of Asheville to live, live in these small communities," Greene said. "These small communities can't be forgotten. We're actually the glue that holds these bigger towns together and everything."
Clay Councill is a business owner, a dad, and a Knoxville community member. He runs The Yard Force, a landscaping business, and is using his business and tools as a way to help those in need in North Carolina.
"I just felt like I needed to come see who needed help," Councill said. "They're great people. They are God fearing just sweet people, down to earth. But they're resilient and they're tough and they're not going anywhere."
Helene left debris and sand piled so high it completely changed the banks of the river.
"You could tell there was a beautiful community right on the banks of the French Broad, incredible views, really peaceful, beautiful homes," Councill said. "You could just tell that it was sheer devastation from end to end, it was just really, really sad."
His arrival marked a new chapter for people in Rollins.
"He says 'I want to help, I want to be here to help you in any way we can' and it was just a blessing to know that he was here," Jennifer Greene said.
Clay immediately got to work. He and his crew tore down the damaged homes, cleared dirt from culverts and river banks, and most importantly, hugged and supported the people of Rollins.
"It's sad and my heart breaks for the people to lose all of their property," Councill said. "They probably need 15 or 20 different big projects done and we can do our part just by coming and saying, hey, we're going to take on three or four big projects."
Jennifer Greene says he came at just the right time.
"I told Clay, I said, you're just one of our God's angels that has shown up to help us," Greene said.
"I believe that we're all part of a human family," Councille said. "We look out for each other when we can and I felt moved to come to this community and I felt like God is a part of that and I feel like we can help each other out."
They are helping to restore this community, one bucket of sand and debris at a time.
"We feel like while we're tearing down homes, we're really helping the residents kind of see the future a little bit brighter by clearing the slate and helping them start anew" Councill said.
You can watch the full story of the Rollins community on WBIR+.