Just the Facts

Help needed: boots on the ground

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Deena Bouknight

Countless stories that all seem to defy reason or explanation. 

“I came back after the storm to find my home and three other homes gone. A barn gone. A shed gone. Two RVs gone. I have walked up and down the stream for a mile or more and I can’t find a trace of my home or what was in it. My family photos. My family bibles. All gone. It’s like it all just disappeared.”

HIGH WINDS and rushing waters of Hurricane Helene left some WNC residents with damages that will take many months and many hands to clean up.

“One minute I was watching the creek rise and the next time I looked out the window, a rush of water was encircling my house and pushing up against my front door and windows. I couldn’t get out. I watched trees pulled out of the ground from the rushing water and catapulted through the air. I put my big dog and my two cats on my bed with me. I didn’t expect that I would survive.” 

Three weeks after Hurricane Helene dumped 10-30 inches of rain in Western North Carolina and caused creeks and streams to turn into roaring rivers – due to build up at bridges up stream that suddenly burst or because of other waterways joining them – destruction is palpable in so many towns and pocket communities. The stench of thick mud mixed with chemicals, dead fish, fertilizers, waste, spoiled food, etc. fills the air. The noise from skid steers, Army trucks, dump trucks, and sledge hammers reverberates as houses are emptied of mud, contents are loaded into dumpsters, bridges are reconstructed, and drywall, paneling, and flooring is ripped from homes. 

The need is great

The immediate need after the Sept. 27 natural disaster was primarily food, water, and paper goods. Then it became sleeping bags, warm clothing, gas, and propane camp stoves. Those items and so much more are ongoing needs. Yet, assistance on salvageable homes is momentously required now and for many weeks and months to come: de-mudding, emptying of wet contents and building materials, and clearing away trees and brush. 

At Locust Grove Church near Weaverville, just one of 12 current Western North Carolina “command centers” for the Baptists on Mission disaster recovery and relief organization, nearly 100 homes have been assessed for volunteer assistance, with just 45 worked on in the last three weeks. According to the site’s North Carolina coordinator, requests for help on homes is coming in daily by word of mouth, calls to churches and community authorities, and inquiries at the innumerable pop-up emergency stations in overwhelmed communities.

“And there are areas that we haven’t even gotten to assess,” said Terry Hall“We are trying to get into Hot Springs, which has really been closed off [due to the storm], so we don’t even know what the needs are there yet. This is not a few weeks need for volunteers or even a few months need. We desperately need volunteers for many months to come.”

During a three-day stint to help with two homes in the Weaverville/Barnardsville area, Macon Sense’s manager, Dan Finnerty (along with myself) viewed and heard the desperation of displaced people. Three tents were set up where a home once stood. The people whose house Finnerty and other volunteers with Baptists on Mission were cleaning out so it could dry and eventually be renovated, said they were crammed into a two-bedroom home with another family. One woman was sleeping with her teenage son in her car. Another was bunking with a neighbor she just met, her large dog and two cats in tow.   

Malika Windle, wife of Discover Church pastor Ben Windle, spent a day last week serving with Samaritan’s Purse. Alongside her were a few other women who work for or with Discover Church in Franklin. She said signing up to serve was “easy.” 

MACON SENSE’S manager, Dan Finnerty, and many other individuals volunteering with Baptists on Mission suited up Oct. 16 and 17 to muck out thick mud from crawl spaces and basements in homes in Weaverville and Barnardsville.

“[Samaritan’s Purse] is amazing, organized, professional, safe …,” she said. “We worked hard but also spent time with the homeowners getting to know their stories and be there for them during this difficult time.” 

Windle echoed what so many site coordinators for disaster relief organizations are affirming, “Samaritans Purse will need volunteers for the next three months, minimum.” 

County commissioner Danny Antoine, after serving in Spear, N.C., Oct. 12, appealed on social media: “Please let’s continue to pray and continue reaching out to them to help. They need us.” 

On the www.ilovemytown.org website, also listed as a volunteer opportunity in addition to Samaritan’s Purse and Baptists on Mission, is Emerge Ministries.

In fact, many relief organizations have logistical posts set up in churches or empty buildings throughout Western North Carolina; these spots are where cleaning supplies and equipment are stored, volunteers are housed and fed, work team meetings take place, volunteers are assembled, etc. Hall encouraged anyone living within a two-hour or under driving distance to one of these sites volunteer for the day, so that the logistical posts can be used as temporary housing for volunteers coming from farther away. However, if someone from Macon County, for example, wants to sign up to serve for several days in a row, the disaster relief organization will accommodate. Individuals simply visit the organization’s website and provide information regarding skills, dates available to serve, contact information, and more.   

THE DISCOVER Church team in Weaverville.

Go or give

Ben Windle’s message on Sunday, Oct. 20, was concerning The Cheerful Giver, from 2 Corinthians 9: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart …”

For residents of Macon County who cannot serve as boots on the ground in hard-hit areas, needs are great for financial contributions to purchase cleaning supplies, Tyvek suits (full-body disposable suits essential when accomplishing mud-outs in homes), gloves, masks, fuel, food to feed volunteers, bottled water, and items to donate to homeowners, such as sleeping bags, mattresses, warm clothing, grills, camp stoves, and more.  

Additionally, intake/distribution centers are located all around Macon County, including one operated by GR828, which is part of Mountain Alliance and Mission. This one is located at 45 Macon Center Drive, and volunteers are typically there every day except Sunday to accept needed items that will be taken to sites farther to the east of Macon County – places like Barnardsville, Marshall, Weaverville, Old Fort, Swannanoa, Asheville, Chimney Rock, and Bat Cave. For information about what is currently needed, email [email protected] or visit the GR828 Facebook page. 

KERRIGAN FERGUSON makes the most of it in Weaverville.

Franklin High School (FHS) students have raised more than $4,000 with its “Coins for Conference” campaign to help schools in the region that have been affected by Helene. Macon County Schools Superintendent Josh Lynch recognized the efforts at the Oct. 18 new school groundbreaking, “Our friends to the east … schools gone, footballs fields gone. We’re not forgetting those folks.” 

Fox Mercantile in Franklin is accepting financial donations to purchase boots and socks for first responders since toxic mud and water is detrimental to footwear. As of late last week, more than 200 pairs of boots and socks had been distributed to hard-working first responders.  

Additionally, Jennifer Hollifield with the Macon County Department of Social Services, shared that the Macon County Hurricane Helene Donation and Distribution Center will remain open until further notice. The location is the old vacant Ingles in the Holly Springs Shopping Center, 183 Holly Springs Plaza, Franklin. Hours for donation and unmet needs pickup are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hollifield noted that some of the items needed for donation include toothbrushes, toothpaste, grab-and-go nonperishable food items, infant food, cleaning wipes, work gloves, flashlights, batteries, first aid kits, garbage bags, personal hygiene products, and cleaning products.

AS A sign of hope and perseverance, a family whose house was destroyed by rushing water found their damaged American flag and duct-taped it to their mailbox.

“Currently, we do not need any additional clothing or bottled water,” she said. 

Food assistance is also available. Residents may apply for Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) benefits at the Distribution and Disaster Recovery Center located at 183 Holly Springs Plaza in

Franklin until Oct. 24. Hours of operation are 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., Monday thru Friday and 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. or call the D-SNAP Virtual Call Center at (844)453-1117.

An email has also been established for residents to submit unmet needs and other requests. Send information to [email protected] and the request or information will be routed to the most appropriate agency, department or individual.


This article does not begin to provide all the information about what is needed in terms of volunteer assistance and donations. Email [email protected] with helpful.