Since Hurricane Helene, Charlotte mutual aid groups have been working hard to provide support to our friends, families, loved ones, and comrades here at home and in Western North Carolina. With your help, Charlotte Food Not Bombs was able to raise almost $5000 to help evacuees with supplies, tents, hot meals, groceries, clothes, baby formula, gas, and more. Following emergency responses in the days and weeks immediately after Helene, the latest stage of mutual aid disaster relief has focused on providing financial support to 1) rebuild crucial infrastructure, 2) help individuals facing evictions and other hardships, and 3) invest in on-the-ground work at the hyperlocal level meeting needs directly. Given these needs and the leftover budget we found ourselves with, CLT FNB made the decision to send our remaining Helene funds to the following six groups doing important work in WNC:

Hurricane Helene severely damaged the public water systems in Asheville, NC and in a lot of other small mountain towns. Many of the folks who need wells don’t have the financial means to pay for the installation of a well themselves. One well costs $15,000 to $25,000 on average, and expenses include materials, fuel, equipment, and employees to take care of. Several local well drilling companies began coordinating in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, and any money raised will go towards paying local well drilling companies to help as many WNC residents as possible. They only use funds to pay for wells located at places that can have a high impact and cannot cover the costs themselves. No funds will be used to drill wells at private residences. You can donate to the GoFundMe here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/western-nc-water-well-fund-solving-the-helene-water-crisis

Pansy Collective is an all-trans artist collective with the mission to support those most affected by oppressive policies and hateful ideologies. They organize punk shows, workshops, teach-ins, and mutual aid funding for community members in emergencies. In the hours following Helene, Pansy partnered with Mutual Aid Disaster Relief and were on the ground before FEMA in WNC distributing truckloads of physical donations and supplies. They continue to help their communities impacted by climate disaster and fascism. You can donate on Venmo here: https://account.venmo.com/u/pansycollective

AMS is a network of people and groups across Southern Appalachia involved in medical care and support of communities in crises and struggle. They share medical knowledge and skills with people who cannot afford traditional classes and actively reach out to unhoused folks in Asheville. AMS mobilized following Helene to provide medical care and supplies to communities in WNC. You can donate on Open Collective here: https://opencollective.com/appalachianmedicalsolidarity

ROAR formed in Madison County, NC in 2017 in response to the need for a rural voice working for all who call the mountains home. It works to strengthen connections and respect among all people in mountain communities countering systems of oppression through education, outreach, empowerment, and mutual aid. They develop outreach materials, hold educational workshops, table at local events, build solidarity, hold book and clothing distros, host free community meals, fundraise for initiatives led by people of color, and do free deliveries of firewood to provide heating assistance to vulnerable communities. You can find donation information here: https://ruralorganizing.wordpress.com/donate/

BeLoved Asheville started in 2009 to create a transformational way of life rooted in community and working to create Home, Health, Equity, and Opportunity in Asheville. They work to create vital connections between individuals, to resources, and to power in order to respond to community struggles and shape thriving futures. BeLoved is providing essential aid and shelter following Helene and leading action for ongoing cleanup, long-term housing solutions, and inclusive growth within the community; with winter here, they are securing warm and safe housing for those displaced by the storm. Their programs include but aren’t limited to: a cultural arts and leadership initiative with LatinX youth; celebrating and connecting Asheville’s Black community; BeLoved Villages making homes attainable; La Cocina de Mamá, a culturally celebratory food truck and mobile kitchen; street outreach through street medic teams and health fairs; and street pantries providing necessities like food, toiletries, first aid supplies, and more that can be accessed 24/7. You can find donation information here: https://www.belovedasheville.com/donate/

Umoja is a Black-run, grassroots non-profit creating community through connection and culture, disrupting generational trauma and incarceration by teaching resilience, building community, peer-based recovery, and healing through the arts. It seeks to create a space for individual and communal healing and is trauma-informed and culturally aligned. Their programs include: HOPE 4 the Future, a free prevention-based after school and summer camp for school aged children and teens; community paramedic peer support specialists helping the Buncombe County Post-Overdose-Response-Team and the Medicated-Assisted-Treatment team; Foundations for Healing, a support group for anyone seeking understanding and healing for themselves, their partners, and their families due to harm they have caused; and Rebuilding through Healing, a group for anyone who has experienced harm or noticed red flags in their intimate partner relationships. You can donate here: https://umojahwj.harnessgiving.org/campaigns/16247

In solidarity,
CLT Food Not Bombs