Continuing the support for folks in Tennessee!
THANK YOU to everyone who donated to our last-minute fundraiser for volunteers to go and support people on the ground, from one part of Tennessee to another.
We've already raised over $500.
If you've been thinking of donating, this is a GREAT moment to do so! There's been more national attention on the impacts of Hurricane Helene on North Carolina - here's an article about some of the impacts in Tennessee.
Our team of friends and colleagues is on the ground right now - seeing old familiar faces, being welcomed, helping out however they can. At the end of a long day, they are tired - but also very glad to be able to do this work.
That's what disasters can do: they can help us help one another. Our initiative is a small, neighbor-to-neighbor version of some of the initiatives that country singers and state loans aiming to do: to bring support to an area that has been devastated. (We are not doing loans! We are volunteering!)
And with climate change, we all need to increase our skills and abilities in supporting one another in ongoing recovery from all sorts of unnatural disasters.
Thanks again!
Here’s Ashlei’s reflection on her volunteer work yesterday in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene:
We got the call from our partners on Tuesday and we’re activated by Wednesday. All four organizations supported each other for funding, support, organization, people power, accommodations, supplies, and transportation.
I showed up and prepped on my personal own (personally funded by a donor and family gave me clothes and some extra PPE ) - refunded one flight from some other unused travel funds - and connected in Nashville with two Spanish interpreters one of which was a hurricane harvel survivor and who’s mother lost her house and they had volunteers come to help rebuild.
The government was there - the day started at “on the hill” at Highlander remembering the infamous work of many civil rights folks before us in group circle dropping into the day with community can looking over beautiful TN mountains and remembering the deep community and volunteer spirit of TN and of Appalachia we made a plan and organized our selves for what might be asked of us and what direction we might be sent in.
Of course, we went with all the gear from donations from Growing Roots and a donation transfer from the Rē community in the way specifically for the group social support to those we go to support.
We arrived at the volunteer check-in at a National Guard beautifully organized deployment station for volunteers - it was generously supported and resourced and they quickly matched us with Betty on a road along the river that had been unidentified as FEMA and the neighbor told us they were not on the flood map - so a FEMA person was following the waterways to find communities in need and this neighbor had also contacted officials to alert them of their situation.
Our assignment for the day was to assist Betty in the gutting of her house- we arrived and things were bad, the waters had been almost over the roof of the single-story houses, and the mud had been thigh-high- it seemed as if we were assigned to stage three - one- mud and water removal and debris organizing, two trashing belonging and teaching out sheetrock. Three we pulled out the nails and staples from beams and old insulation to let the house continue to try and get easy for mold spray foam insulation and sheetrock.
Along with FEMA who was there to assess damages and who needed what and what time and the information needed to access financial support disaster relief was there to specifically assess and give directions for demolition practices and steps.
We worked from 9:20 till 6 with lunch.
Betty was a single mom in her 60s who had lost her husband in November - they had “fixed up this house together” and “it was so cute” better worked alongside of us all day and had many words of encouragement and notes this flood isn’t going to move her nor the idea of the next - “one day at a time” “this in my home” you could tell she was a strong character gentle steady tired and hopeful overwhelmed and tender - there’s a lot of unknowns. From the amount of stuff lying on the lawn from the garage, you could tell she knew about home renovation. Betty seems in a good place and ridiculously grateful for our work and comradely during our day, during our front porch lunch we were able to tell some stories get to know each other, and have some laughs. Betty seems like she is well supported but govt relief, the comm unit, and her family- not everyone here is this lucky- many folks don’t have family or community - left or available or close by or anywhere to go. Betty did and does for the future of her journey forward.
Here are a few images:
p.s. Director Ashlei is from the ground with extremely limited connectivity—please excuse any grammar issues as she could barely get the update out to us