Video by Caroline Routh
LEAD: After the devastation of Hurricane Helene, one disaster relief group is helping rebuild the area while getting to know the community they are serving. Caroline Routh has more.
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TRACK: Kirsty Greeno has volunteered to help with 14 different natural disasters, but this is the first time that she knows the names of the people she’s helping.
STANDUP: CORE — the community organized relief group is here in Allen Campos community to rebuild after damage from Hurricane Helene.
TRACK: What stands out about this disaster relief program is their focus on embedding themselves into the community as they help rebuild.
KIRSTY GREENO: It’s probably my new favorite way to do a disaster is to like get in here embedded into a community and kind of like see it through. Like I’ve become good friends with some of the homeowners, like we all laugh and we joke around and like it adds a very personal touch to the work we’re doing because generally you go, you do the work, and then you’re gone”
TRACK: Maria Salgado lives in the Allen Campos community. When the hurricane hit, she lost her home.
MARIA SALGADO: And little by little because of the help, our homes are going to be rebuilt.
TRACK: It’s neighbors like Maria who join forces and form friendships with volunteers like Kristy to fix up their community, together
KIRSTY GREENO: And so what we do is we focus mostly on like getting the community involved in the like process of like rebuilding and gutting out and all that stuff. So like, a lot of these other organizations will bring in volunteers from all over the country and all over the world, which is really amazing. But like, CORE utilizes what we have. So we hire local labor, we hire local staff. And then we utilize Dayvols and all that kind of stuff.
TRACK: CORE is unlike any other disaster relief organization out there… and the work they are doing is destined to change the lives of the volunteers and the community members…
KIRSTY GREENO: By the time you leave, you’ve done 30, 40 houses, if you stay as long as I have before. And then sometimes it’s hard to remember every single homeowner, whereas this way, like I’m going to remember these guys for a long, long time. And I think it’s good for them too, because they see that people show up and they’re not going to leave.
TRACK: And the residents here seem to really appreciate that personal touch.
TRACK: I’m Caroline Routh, reporting.
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TAG: It’s great to see CORE lending a helping hand and a friendly face while everyone works together to rebuild in Western North Carolina.
