KarunaNews Story

In response to Hurricane Helene’s devastation, those in Asheville and surrounding mountain communities have been helping each other. Local volunteers have been helping get water, food and other supplies to stranded residents, while rescuing others. “It’s been pretty intense,” said real estate agent Ben Miller, who drove supplies — including 27,000 bottles of water — to Marion, near Asheville, and the remote Spruce Pine, where his family has roots. “In Appalachia, we have a really strong network of both formal and informal mutual-aid groups,” says Garrett Blaize, Appalachian Community Fund’s executive director. “I think we have a lot of embedded cultural values around taking care of each other that really just make it sort of organic that during times of crisis or times of emergency, that is our go-to response.”