The aftermath of Helene: Rebuilding hope

Video by Sophia Pedroso

 

Piles and piles of indistinguishable debris line the streets. A mailbox with stuffed animals. The devastation that was left in Helene’s path remains clear nearly two months later.

 [KELLY SPENCER MOORE (Professor): “Communities are forever altered as a result”]

At the dining hall of Mars Hill University, psychology Professor and art therapy program coordinator Kelly Spencer Moore, has created a space for the community to come together.

[KELLY SPENCER MOORE (Professor): “We decided to create a community quilt so that students, faculty, and it’s been open to community members as well, could have a place to kind of process and also to see it as a vision of hope really.”]

Local quilters came together with students to teach them to create the large quilt in a project titled “community rewoven”. Individuals create a square that will be patched together to create one, large quilt. 

[KELLY SPENCER MOORE (Professor): “And this is our home, this is our community, these are our neighbors, this is where we live, we identify as a part of Western North Carolina.]

This is just one example of one of the many ways we’re seeing North Carolinians trying to bring hope across the western part of the state.

[STANDUP: “As soon as you come off exit 59 of interstate 40, there is a Harley Davidson that has been temporarily transformed into something more.”]

[KEVIN HILL (Special Ops): “What we’re doing here? We are bringing hope to people who need it.”]

That Harley Davidson has become the temporary home to Savage Freedoms. The group is made up of mostly  veterans. 

[KEVIN HILL (Special Ops): “Time doesn’t really exist here. It’s kind of a weird little nexus of just getting things done.”] 

Through ground and air, Savage Freedoms brought supplies and provided rescues for individuals in the Black Mountains region.

 [KEVIN HILL (Special Ops): “We got just a massive influx of support from all over the place. At one point we had eight or nine helicopters on the ground.”]

Now, months after Helene decimated the area, Savage Freedoms has expanded from recovery and rescue into rebuilding efforts. 

[KEVIN HILL (Special Ops): “We’re doing more of the sustainment, rebuild, long-term focus. And that includes temporary housing. It includes actual permanent structures, permitted and zoned correctly.”]

The work of Savage Freedoms has become a whole lot more than rescue missions and providing resources. 

[KEVIN HILL (Special Ops): “It’s not, here’s a heater, here’s a temporary place to live. It’s, here’s some hope back right in the midst of this situation that can be very ominous.”]

Very ominous when surrounded by destruction like these constant reminders of what was lost and the challenges ahead, as communities look to rebuild. Not just the homes, but also a sense of hope for the future of Western North Carolina. I’m Sophia Pedroso reporting. 

Sophia Pedroso

TV/Radio

Sophia Pedroso is a senior from Bridgewater, NJ studying journalism and media. During her time at UNC, Sophia has fallen in love with sports media, especially in the form of broadcasting. Aside from the time she spends in the control room, Sophia is also the first media director for the UNC Women’s Hockey Club and a videographer for the UNC Men’s Hockey Club. Although her passion extends across many areas of sports media, Sophia is primarily interested in becoming a director for a sports broadcast.

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