“We were so fortunate. That’s what I keep telling myself even though we lost everything.”
Shanicca and her family recently moved to Asheville, North Carolina, in September. They were staying with a friend when Hurricane Helene devastated their community.
“My friend told me the day before the storm, it was going to get real bad, so I stayed at a hotel,” Shanicca said. “The first floor flooded. I was praying so hard when the storm hit. Even though we were safe, I got scared when the power went out and then the water started flowing in.”
Shanicca’s family lost all of their belongings because of Helene. Her tragic story is a similar one experienced by thousands of people across the Southeast.
Now, they are staying at a Red Cross shelter where they can safely plan their next steps, have daily meals, connect with spiritual care and mental health volunteers, and receive other community resources.
One resource in particular is through a partnership with Children's Disaster Services (CDS) where safe play areas are set up for children in shelters. Through art, play and focused attention, Shanicca’s sons, Nathan and Izayah, are learning how to cope and emotionally recover from this devastating disaster, too.
In western North Carolina, the heartbreaking damage and lack of connectivity have made it difficult to reach some communities. With the help of partners, we're caring for people in shelters who have no other place to go and gaining access to more neighborhoods to distribute meals and supplies each day.
“People lost their cars, their homes, and all of their belongings,” Shanicca said. “I arrived here five days after the storm, and I'm just grateful that you guys are helping and doing everything for everybody. I have just been blessed so much by y’all.”