Rebuilding Community, One Tiny Home at a Time
When Hurricane Helene hit Yancey County, North Carolina one year ago, it brought over 42 inches of rain in two days. That’s an “annual rainfall” in just 48 hours, as Mountain Heritage High School’s carpentry and masonry instructor Jeremy Dotts describes it. Entire communities were left devastated, with “over 300 homes…lost, and over 1,100 structures.”
In the middle of it all, Dotts saw an opportunity for his students to step up. “I knew we were in a unique facility, in a unique position, where we could produce homes as quickly as possible for people who lost theirs,” he said.
Dotts has spent 15 years leading a program that’s already built “18 houses in 15 years, and 30 structures,” including modular homes, storage buildings, outdoor classrooms and more. It all happens in a state-of-the-art, 10,000 square foot facility, one of the only high school programs in North Carolina able to build full modular homes inside.
When the hurricane hit, Dotts knew the need was bigger than ever. “I was looking for a financial partner,” he said. That partner turned out to be local realtor Stephanie Johnson, who “was receiving financial donations and physical donations through building supplies and other things like that, and she was ready to partner with us.”
Their first tiny home is already under construction, “and we know we want to start another one as quickly as possible.” Each tiny home costs around $20,000 for “six to 800 square feet,” keeping them affordable for families who lost everything.
The project is giving students invaluable experience — and a chance to give back to their neighbors. About 20–25 students each semester participate hands-on, putting their NCCER curriculum and OSHA-10 safety training into practice as they frame walls, install roofs and learn what it means to build for real.
Dotts’s goal is clear: “If I had a target, I want to dedicate three to five years to the rebuild effort… A goal, a realistic goal would be two a year. A perfect scenario goal would be four.” He knows it depends on funding, weather and student commitment, but quitting isn’t in the plan. “We’re going to try. Quit’s not in me.”
The tiny homes project is just one example of how the Mountain Heritage High School program transforms lives. One former student “got hired on by the contractor that was hired by the homeowner that purchased the house from us to finish it… Now he’s a contractor himself.”
For Dotts, that’s what it’s all about. “We’re having to rebuild our community ourselves,” he said. “And to know that my students had a part in the rebuild of their community — that would absolutely just really tickle me.”
Mountain Heritage High School’s tiny homes project shows the power of local craft training to rebuild communities by the people who live there.
NCCER supports community recovery through initiatives like the Rapid Recovery Construction Academy—a program that helps communities respond quickly to natural disasters by providing skilled training and creating immediate job opportunities for those in need. Learn more.