Helene isolated communities and cutoff basic needs like communication, electricity, and clean water.

There were over 1,400 landslides and widespread damage to homes, roads, and bridges.

Carolina Impact's Jason Terzis joins us now with an area nonprofit that helped meet one of the most urgent needs.

- Well, what is it about human nature?

For the most part, we're looking out for ourselves, our families, our careers, and our day-to-day lives, but when disaster strikes true humanity shines through.

People going outta their way to help complete strangers.

For one Boone-based nonprofit, helping strangers in times of need with one of life's most precious commodities serves as its core mission.

(somber music) - [Ricky] Oh my God, it's moved.

It's gone.

It's gone.

- [Jason] On the day after Hurricane Helene, Ricky Ward got his first glimpse of what was left of his home.

- Coming up, I saw the house was turned sideways and I already knew something was very wrong, and I got emotional.

It's gone.

Oh my God, it's gone.

- [Jason] Ricky calling out for his dogs who are still inside, and fortunately, still okay.

- [Ricky] Willie!

Willie!

I see you, Willie.

I see you.

I see you, Embers.

Ah!

- [Jeff] A mudslide had taken out his home.

- The sunroom was way down there in the woods.

Insurance said it was mud, so they're not, they didn't help us.

- [Jeff] Ricky reached out to Boone-based non-profit Wine To Water.

- They were immediate.

It's like the next week they were out here.

- [Jason] He was provided with a tiny home.

Just enough room for himself, his two young kids, and his dogs.

- Big blessing from Wine To Water.

I am, I am, I feel like I'm forever indebted.

- [Jason] Working with area partners to supply nearly 50 tiny homes in Helene's aftermath is just one small part of the Wine To Water story.

- We're an organization that helps get people clean drinking water all over the world.

- [Jason] In 2003, Doc Hendley was finishing up his college degree, working as a bartender to help pay the bills and not quite sure which direction his life was headed.

- I got to a point in my life where I had to choose myself, which wasn't working out so well or love in service of others, which is what my dad tried to teach me as a pastor all growing up.

- [Jason] The biblical term, water to wine, which refers to the first miracle performed by Jesus was stuck in Doc's head.

He then flipped around the words.

- So, I just went and wrote in something like in Google, like water issues or water problems, and what filled that computer screen up that night is what changed the whole course of my life.

- [Jason] What Doc saw were people around the world without clean drinking water.

- I had no idea that there was a global water crisis.

I had no idea that over a billion people with a beat lack access to safe drinking water in the world.

- Everybody deserves to have clean water.

That shouldn't be a problem.

- It's like, what do you mean you can't turn the tap on and get clean drinking water?

- And I remember being like, you know, I've gotta do something about this.

Six months later, August of 2004, I quit my bar job and moved to Sudan.

- [Jason] Doc began installing water systems.

Leading efforts to dig, repair, and sanitize drinking wells in the world's most underserved areas.

- We often are working in the most remote locations around the world - [Jason] Today, Wine To Water employs 120 people worldwide, but never did they think the need for their services would come right in their own backyard.

- [Speaker] Oh my God.

- The initial thought I had was just kind of, wow, what just happened?

- I always felt like this place that I called home was immune to disasters.

- [Jason] With no cell service and roads everywhere blocked, Wine To Water employees and over 1,000 volunteers distributed 1.2 million pounds of emergency supplies and over 400,000 gallons of clean water.

- We went through like hundreds of thousands, millions of bottles of water in the first few days just to get people water.

- Just the response, just seeing it gave hope.

- As soon as we're able to, we'll switch to a longer solution to where they can go right to the creek and get water, if they can.

So, we have a filter, we make this filter right here.

I wouldn't drink this, nobody would drink this.

I wouldn't give this to my kids, but I'll drink that, and I'd give it to my kids.

I trust it.

I drink it all over the world so.

- [Speaker] Salud.

- This is based off of the same technology as kidney dialysis.

So, the same type of membrane that we use when we clean people's blood.

It gets rid of all your bacteria, your proteases, anything that's gonna make you or your children sick, this is going to take care of it.

- Right now, what we're doing is offering water quality testing to any of the counties that have been impacted by the storm.

- We collect that sample and then we take it to a lab and within five to 10 days we'll have results for that homeowner and we will work with people to help solve any issues that emerge.

- [Jason] From supplying bottled water, generators and filters to water quality testing and solutions, and working with partners on things like debris removal, well repair, and tiny homes, for Wine To Water, it's always been about serving those in need.

- Mother Nature has done a good job of covering up the scars.

Man, mountain people are really resilient.

(gentle music) (Courtney sighing) It makes me emotional to think about this.

- As terrible and awful as it was, it also was a beautiful thing, not just for me, but our own community to see people rallying together and it was a beautiful thing to watch happen afterwards, after the disaster.

- That's some pretty amazing technology.

- Yeah.

- Jason, what else can you tell us about Ricky and how he's doing?

- Well, first of all, he's got a great attitude about all this, which I think really goes a long way.

But that tiny home he's sharing with his kids, it's a short-term solution.

People are chipping in to help him get a full-size home back on that lot, which should be happening soon.

And because so many people have helped him, Ricky is paying it forward.

He has his commercial driver's license and went out to California as a volunteer with Wine To Water to help distribute water after the LA wildfires earlier this year.

So, he's like, so many people have been helpful to him.

He wants to help others now, and it's just so nice to see that humanity and people trying to help others.

- In horrible situations, the best of us comes out.

- Absolutely.

- Thank you, Jason.