Email to a Nun

Thanks for doing this! It will mean a lot to the folks listed below, and maybe get the word out a little bit more about what’s really happening out there. The media has moved on at this point except for the occasional story about neighbor helping neighbor. But everything is definitely not OK.

It’s a mess out there.

Nine weeks after the storm and there are maybe a dozen areas with incredible conditions: mud and debris still piled up by the side of the road; people still isolated or roads are a challenge to traverse; homelessness because homes were completely obliterated; no income because area businesses are still temporarily or permanently closed; long travel times to get food and supplies without adequate money for gas; adults and children living in RVs, sometimes with no heat, cars, and tents; people living in homes that have damage such that they are exposed to the elements; problems with propane access /availability; and still some places without potable water.

Federal and state money is rapidly running out. FEMA has tried its best, but they are understaffed, underfunded and way too bureaucratic. The application process for home damage can be confusing. Many people are denied assistance for reasons that are unclear. Homeowners insurance will not pay many, many claims because this event was considered a flood, and most people in the mountains do not have flood insurance. The damage estimate over the entire 12000 sq mile area currently stands at $53 Billion. Governor Cooper has asked the North Carolina General Assembly for $4 billion. So far, 9 weeks after the storm, they have authorized $900 million. They are “waiting to see how much the federal government is going to send.” But Congress has not acted yet. And that might not happen before Christmas. So people are depending on very dedicated aid agencies and volunteers. The agencies are a patchwork - sometimes they duplicate effort, and sometimes serious needs just fall through the cracks. It can be difficult for a victim to figure out where to go and who to see. Because so many cars were destroyed along with homes, people may not even be able to get to where the aid is being distributed. This disaster is way too big for private individuals and aid agencies to tackle.

So that’s the big picture. Here’s a little more info about my two “adopted “ places, Minneapolis NC, and Swannanoa.

Minneapolis is a tiny hamlet in the town of Newland, up in Avery County. Very, very rural. 1902 children K-12 in seven different schools. Minneapolis has a population of 185. Right now the center of town is the Global Methodist Church which is running a food/supply distribution center for the area. It’s up on a hill. Which is good, because the town flooded and had a major landslide. A woman was swept away while her husband and children watched. Many lost everything they owned, and many are out of work. I was there three weeks ago to deliver fresh food (eggs, butter, cheese, etc) because the nearest open grocery store was a two hour hike and they hadn’t had fresh food in six weeks. I’ve copied a video of what it looked like there two weeks ago. https://youtu.be/EWU_7yii2PQ There hasn’t been much change since then.  

I’ve had a hard time getting individual names of people working to help their neighbors there. I’m gonna keep working on that.

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Even after nine weeks, Swannanoa defies description. I know you saw the photos, but I’ve attached a video made six days ago.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BQoyxtgsx/?mibextid=UalRPS 

 In the video you can see the type of damage, but you can’t see the scope of the damage. I spent four days there after I came down from Minneapolis. I wasn’t able to find the exact figure, but based on the overall number for Buncombe County as a whole (1200 children K-12), I would think that the elementary school in town currently has about 100 homeless kids. Blunt Pretzels owner Eddy Schoeffmann closed his store for eight weeks to feed people in Swannanoa. 1500 a day on average. His staff changed gears to make it happen. I’m not sure they were being paid, because Eddy was struggling to keep the power on. Volunteers (like me) signed up online and just showed up. I had never worked in a commercial kitchen before. World Central Kitchen brought in an 8000 gallon potable water tank, and supplied some of the food. The rest was donated. Two guys traded off as chef, worked with whatever ingredients showed up, and whatever humans showed up, and cranked out very healthy very yummy food for all of those people from 11:30am until 7:30 at night, 7 days a week. A real live loaves and fishes thing, right there.

There are many other Swannanoa stories to tell, but we can save those for another time. 

If anybody you know wants to help materially out there, they can cruise on over to my FB page. I’m keeping a current list of immediate needs and where to send them pinned right to the top. 

Please feel free to share far and wide.

Pam