Post Helene

Across the Western North Carolina and surrounding regions, catastrophic rains, floods, landslides, and winds decimated our collective lives and will forever be etched in our hearts and psyches. September 2024 brought such devastation, the loss of lives, towns, livelihoods, and innocence. Geological changes occurred and towns were leveled, roads and rivers rerouted, and nothing is the same. We will still be without clean drinking water in Asheville at the end of October, and we do not know when we will return to enjoying something that we so mindlessly dripped from our faucets before.

No matter how much personal devastation we each experienced, we all experienced a natural disaster and a significant change to our lives. It is normal to feel guilty for not suffering “too” much, and to feel compelled to “do” and “help”. It is normal to feel numb, and as though joyless, and down. Sleep disturbances, and irritability…increased anxiety, it’s all normal. If you are feeling like you need someone to talk to, please seek help. We are all in this together!