Starting over in Charlotte after Hurricane Florence, mom and son need help at Christmas

Krystal Stokes was hoping for the best when Hurricane Florence hit her hometown of Wilmington in September.

She and her 8-year-old son, Krystian, packed a few things and left their first-floor apartment to ride out the storm with her sister, who lives in a nearby second-floor apartment.

And when it came time to go back to their apartment, Krystal and Krystian found it had been flooded.

Krystal, a certified nursing assistant at a group home, did her best to bleach her moldy kitchen and scrub the furniture, but a few days after moving back, the owners of the apartment complex gave residents a week to move out so the units could undergo several months of renovations.

Now, Krystal says she’s battling with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for funds to help pay for another place to live while her rent-controlled apartment is being fixed. In the meantime, she and Krystian are staying with family in Charlotte.

The mother and son say they love it here, but they’re struggling. Krystal hasn’t been able to pay for the new transmission her car needs, so she’s sharing a car with her cousin. She also is running out of gas money to get to job interviews as well as the funds she needs every month to pay for the storage facility that holds all of their possessions.

Krystian Stokes and his mom Krystal were forced out of their Wilmington apartment after Hurricane Florence and are staying with family in Charlotte. The transition has been tough on them, and Krystian will be receiving toys at Christmas thanks to the Salvation Army’s Christmas program.

Courtesy of Krystal Stokes

One worry she says she’s grateful to have off her mind is how she’ll pay for Christmas.

That’s because Krystian is one of about 7,300 children registered to receive toys and clothes through the Salvation Army’s Christmas program, which matches children in need with anonymous donors who buy the gifts. Some 1,400 senior citizens will also receive gifts this Christmas.

In cases where donors don’t step up, Charlotte Observer readers cover the expense by giving to the Empty Stocking Fund. Money raised by last year’s Empty Stocking Fund allowed the Salvation Army to purchase 6,056 toys and 456 gifts for low-income seniors. Each child will also receive a new backpack this year, so Empty Stocking funds were used to purchase 8,000 backpacks and 20,000 small items to stuff in them. Children in the program range in age from infants to 12 years old.

Krystian loves origami, mechanical pencils, coloring books and Hot Wheels cars that change colors, Krystal says. He’s also in love with dirt bikes, basketball and football.

“He’s not a picky child at all,” Krystal laughs.

She says she’s grateful for the Salvation Army’s program, “because it will help put something under the tree. It will make Christmas a little bit better for him and take the stress off of me.

“He still talks about Santa,” Krystal says. “He’s like, ‘It’s OK mom, Santa’s going to bring me stuff.’ ”

Krystal is proud of how Krystian has dealt with the massive changes that have come in the last two months.

His grades and classroom behavior are even better than they were in Wilmington, she says, and he seems like a happier kid.

Hurricane Florence is just the latest in what has been a string of sadness for the mother and son over the last two years. Krystal’s brother, whom she says Krystian was extremely close to, died in a shooting near Wilmington on Easter morning 2016. And her mom passed away unexpectedly in September 2017.

“All of my friends say, ‘I don’t know how you’re still standing.’ I say, ‘I don’t have a choice. I have an 8-year-old son who’s looking over me.’ ”

She’s dreaming of the day, hopefully soon, when she lands a job that enables her to rent another two-bedroom apartment like the one they had in Wilmington. She’s hoping to do that in Charlotte, which she sees as having more opportunities for her and Krystian, and a fresh start.

“If I have to struggle, I’ll struggle,” Krystal says. “As long as my son is happy.”