How local volunteers ease post-hurricane burden

People across the Southeast are pitching in to support local communities that have been devastated by Hurricane Helene to help provide basic resources like food, water and medical supplies.
Helene, which made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region last week as a massive Category 4 hurricane, has become the deadliest mainland hurricane since Katrina in 2005.
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, ABC News’ “Good Morning America” is set to provide five days of special coverage titled “Southeast Strong: Help After Helene”(#SoutheastStrong), spotlighting communities across the southeast impacted by Hurricane Helene and the urgent efforts to help them recover.
From independent restaurant owners to nonprofit organizations, people are volunteering time and donating resources to those most in need, from Florida to North Carolina, where the catastrophic destruction left communities severely flooded, without power, devoid of access to potable water, and covered in debris.
In Asheville, North Carolina, where the death toll has continued to rise with 200 people still missing, organizations are rallying to help hand out necessary supplies in the hard-hit region.
Pastors Matthew and Michelle Coleman set up relief efforts at the Asheville Dream Center, where they have been handing out donations to the community.
Matthew Coleman, the president and CEO of Asheville Dream Center, told “GMA” that “there’s nowhere else we can be,” adding they “have to” be on the ground helping.
The flooding also destroyed the MANNAFood Bank facility, which has made support from organizations like Operation Airdrop, Global Empowerment Mission, and World Central Kitchen vital resources during this time.
The food bank has powered through to help provide hope that many desperately need.
“The response has been amazing. It’s a resilient community. Everybody is coming together to really support one another,” Liz Hipps, MANNA FoodBank’s COO, told “GMA.”
“And as you’re standing in that line and you’re handing out those donations to the folks in need, it’s heartbreaking to hear their stories and to hear where they’re coming from,” she continued. “And they are just so thankful for the support.”
Brent Wyatt from Loving Food Resources helped cook and serve hot pancake breakfasts for locals in need on Friday and spoke to “GMA” about the food pantry’s continued work.
“We provide food and personal care items with people living with HIV and also people in home hospice care, but now we are serving the broader community,” he said.
After jumping in quickly to support the efforts, Wyatt said the greatest need since the storm has been “usable water for drinking and cooking” as well as “water that can be used to flush commodes.”
The Western North Carolina native said the people in his community “are very resilient.”
“We band together. And we will get through this,” he said.
Yassin Terou, owner of Yassin’s Falafel House in Knoxville, Tennessee, has repeatedly showed up to feed communities in need after past natural disasters both in the U.S. and abroad.
Now, his mission to spread love through food is again on full display as he sets up food trucks after the catastrophic flooding from Hurricane Helene, which hit close to home and decimated cities throughout Eastern Tennessee.
“We act as a family and we keep building the love,” he said.
Terou has mobilized his efforts delivering food and essentials to one community at a time, including a soup kitchen in Greeneville, the Erwin Care Center, an elementary school and even more stops that he’s documented on social media delivering hope and kindness as well as vital aid.