ASHEVILLE – While Buncombe County had not yet set up aid distribution stations in the aftermath of the historic floods from Tropical Storm Helene, one nonprofit had taken it into their own hands — soliciting another national nonprofit to send aid.
Asheville Dream Center brought aid to the Asheville Mall on Sept. 29, likely becoming the first mass aid distribution site for necessities in the city. The nonprofit is the local arm of the nonprofit national Dream Center outreach ministry. The nonprofit Global Empowerment Mission was the first to respond to their call to distribute aid in the city, Asheville Dream Center Executive Director Michelle Coleman said.
“We just got them this place, but we’re gonna have more of their trucks,” Michelle Coleman said, noting that they had been told that FEMA was “coming out tomorrow” to provide aid.
Asheville Dream Center CEO Matthew Coleman indicated that two trucks had come to Asheville in time for aid on Sept. 29. The first one was full of a variety of resources like food, paper towels, cleaning supplies, tarps and pet food. The next truck, which was expected to be received around 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 29, was for just for one resource: water. It’s expected to be the most important resource residents need as the city of Asheville attempts to bring their water grid back online.
The effort brought out volunteers from across the community. People of all ages, including children who had made a game by playing basketball with an empty cardboard box, were out helping distribute the aid to a line of cars so long that it stretched from the parking lot to Tunnel Road, where motorists were parking on the typically busy residential avenue.
More: Helene death toll climbs to 30 in Buncombe County, sheriff says
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UNC Asheville teacher Casey Watkins was one of the first volunteers to help respond, unloading the single, stark white tractor trailer full of community necessities.
The university has faced its own flooding, with cancellations and significant damage to university buildings. Watkins said that the building with her office was “OK” but a tree had fallen on the roof. Though the university has announced it’s closed through Oct. 9, it’s unclear when students will fully be back in the classroom, she said.
Watkins, who is from Wilmington, said that she had experienced losing power for two weeks from Hurricanes. However, she had never lost water for that amount of time. Currently living in Haw Creek, she said the neighborhood had suffered from fallen trees and flooding, as some areas of the neighborhood are “not even passable yet” due to fallen trees.
“We really don’t know how long the water is going to be out,” Michelle Coleman said. “I went through the line here, and I talked to so many people and their fear is how long. Is it two weeks? Is it more than a month?”
I’ve watched the community come together out here. It’s encouraging one another and it’s building hope,” Michelle Coleman said. “We need that right now.”
In line, fear sets in for local residents
Debbie Adrian joined her daughter and grandson as they volunteered at the distribution site. Adrian said that they had driven from the Cloister Condominiums in East Asheville, where they had seen the water rapidly rise up and flood the self-storage site where they kept personal belongings.
Because the main connector to the Cloisters, Swannanoa River Road, has been damaged and blocked off by mud, the only way they’ve been able to get out is a small, rudimentary mud path that was created between the Beverly Hills neighborhood and the Cloisters. Once they escaped, they recalled joining others at the Tunnel Road Chili’s to get cell service, a common occurrence as only a few spots around town have consistent cell or Wi-Fi coverage.
“I don’t know when they’re going to open up the Cloisters,” Adrian said. “The mud just needs to be gone.”
Waiting in line, Derek Faria and Lori Kent had arrived early and waited 40 minutes for aid distribution. Their worries turned to what the future looks like when they might run “out of everything” — from food to water. Kent, a local hairdresser, was worried about having the basic resources along with having a job to go back to.
Where to go, what to know
The Asheville Dream Center is doing rolling updates on aid distribution sites on social media, Michelle Coleman told the Citizen Times. She encouraged all interested residents to reach out on social media or check for live updates.
On their Instagram, the organization indicated that they would be back again with aid from Global Empowerment Mission at the Asheville Mall off of South Tunnel Road distributing food and water on Sept. 30 at 12:30 p.m. They’ve asked for volunteers to meet them there at 11:30 a.m.
More: Full scope of Helene devastation not clear as recovery underway: ‘Our hearts are broken’
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected]. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville Helene aftermath: When will distribution centers be set up
