DANDRIDGE – Michael Brown owns the home where he was raised, on property that has been passed down through the generations since his great-great-grandfather and great-great-grandmother purchased the property.

After his great-great-grandfather was killed during the Civil War at the Battle of Bulls Gap, Brown’s great-great-grandmother paid for the farm using his pension. Brown’s home is more than the place where he lives, it’s part of his heritage.

When the rain and winds of Tropical Storm Helen came in September 2024, the deluge took its toll on the house and property.

“It rained for four days solid. It blew half the twin tree down and it pretty much wet everything in the basement… There was water standing down there,” Brown said. “We used to walk to the lake from here, and they were worried about the lake overflowing. And it did come way up.”

Brown worked as a truck driver, even trying his hand at being an owner/operator for a time.

“If you own a truck, either the bank gets your money or the mechanic gets your money,” he said. “If you buy a new one the bank gets the money and if you buy a used one the mechanic gets your money.”

He said he was working as a school bus driver when his parents’ health began to fail. He spent five years caring for them in his home and eventually had to take leave from work due to the exhausting schedule he was maintaining.

He was working for Pigeon Forge Mass Transit when he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in 2017. He was only 57 years old. He said his doctor told him he needed to apply for disability, but he managed to work another five years before retiring at 63 years old.

“If it hadn’t been for a lot of help from my employer and my coworkers there’s no way I could have made it, especially that last year,” he said.

When Helene struck his home, Brown was unable to descend the stairs into his basement to evaluate the damage. He said when he opened the door into the basement he could see water standing down there. Jefferson County Disaster Relief helped him by cleaning out the basement following the flood. He said they removed two dumpsters full of stuff from his basement.

“Once the water got in there like that, every time it rained it got in there much worse,” he said.

He began researching available assistance to repair his home and when he asked if there was anyone who could help him fill out paperwork, a USDA representative referred him to Clinch-Powell RC&D.

Brown was able to utilize two Clinch-Powell administered programs to complete repairs to his home. He received funding through the USDA Rural Development Single Family Housing Disaster Assistance Fund Home Repair Grant Program and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati Carol M. Peterson Housing Fund. Each program paid for different portions of the repair work completed to his home.

Increased pressure on the walls in Brown’s basement had caused them to begin collapsing inward, and metal bracing was installed to stabilize them. A drain system was installed around the basement’s outer walls, along with a sump pump, to prevent further incursion of water. Brown said a plastic barrier was also installed along the basement walls to help prevent water from seeping through.

Homeowners in need of home repairs to improve safety, energy efficiency and/or accessibility may qualify for one of Clinch-Powell’s home repair programs. To learn more about Clinch-Powell’s programs, visit https://clinchpowell.net/ or call 865-828-5927.