Video by Sophia Pedroso
Maria Salgado has been fighting for MORE THAN two months. Fighting along with the rest of the Spanish-speaking populations of Western North Carolina, to overcome the language barriers of disaster relief following Hurricane Helene.
[MARIA: “And I’m so sad. I’m really so sad.”]
[STANDUP: “Here in Swannanoa, one of the many Hispanic populations impacted by Hurricane Helene, is the Alan Campos community.”]
Maria has lived in the mobile home park, tucked away in the mountains of Swannanoa, for almost 20 years.
The floods that hit the region brought devastation to the community. However, Alan Campos residents had a unique challenge as they sought relief.
[NAT POP OF CHICKEN]
Unable to receive information from government agencies and relief organizations, the Spanish-speaking community struggled to find the support they needed.
[MARIA (Translation): “Even thought we are a lot of people here, a lot of Hispanics… sometimes we don’t get the help we need.”]
Community Organized Relief Effort, or CORE, is an organization that focuses on embedding itself into a community to provide disaster relief.
Looking for a marginalized community to support, CORE decided on Alan Campos as their focus. Antonio Garcia, project manager for Alan Campos, saw how the language barrier prevented the community from receiving the support they needed in the aftermath of the storm.
[ANTONIO: “…motivating them to use our assistance. And we could see in their faces, you know, the hope they could feel because we were here helping them and assisting them.”]
Kirsty Greeno joined the project only three weeks ago, and shared how CORE has been able to quickly mobilize and connect the community with resources.
[KIRSTY: “But like, even like from three weeks, like the change is very, very evident. And like, people are finally getting campers, so they’re finally having places to live.”]
As CORE continues their work in the community, the language barrier that once loomed over, becomes less of an issue.
[MARIA (Translation): “And we have no words or a way to pay them back. And little by little because of their help, our homes are going to be rebuilt.”]
I’m Sophia Pedroso reporting.
