UNC Rural responds to post-Helene needs

UNC Rural has been active in the Carolina community’s efforts to provide resources and support to those in western North Carolina recovering from Hurricane Helene.

Adam Sotak, associate director of UNC Rural, organized a full-day trip to Swannanoa and another three-day trip to Marion for hurricane recovery efforts. UNC Rural has served as a connector between rural communities and Carolina campus partners and resources since 2019. The trips were organized through these relationships and with help from Cameron Morgan, project manager for state engagement with the Carolina Center for Public Service.

“This experience organized by UNC Rural reflects the importance of UNC being invited in by the community to be of assistance,” said Sarah Verbiest, director of the Jordan Institute for Families in the UNC School of Social Work. “For that to happen, we are going to need to build genuine relationships; be open and flexible to respond to what they need, not what we want to offer; and understand that people out west are resilient and strong, and this is a huge burden they are carrying. UNC must engage with a trauma-informed approach.”

Verbiest volunteered at Swannanoa Self-Storage, a small business severely impacted by flooding. The business manager needed help cleaning debris and other tasks on the property so that the business could serve residents in need of storage while they were rebuilding and recovering.

With the emergency declaration response ending in December and the deadlines to apply for many disaster relief programs in early February, this is a critical time for the community, said Jean Davison. Davison, a clinical associate professor in the UNC School of Nursing and medical director of the UNC School of Nursing Mobile Health Clinic, volunteered during the trip with Grassroots Aid Partnership’s mobile kitchen to provide healthy food. “Right now, everyone I spoke to is feeling overwhelmed by needs as mental health issues have really impacted the community,” she said.

Davison plans to return with students to offer whole health outreaches over spring break in the service-learning course NURS 609. They will work in partnership with Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College and other community partners.

Align work with the community’s priorities

“My objective is to improve public health for rural communities in North Carolina and beyond,” said Tyler Malone, a researcher with the Sheps Center and the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program. “The volunteer opportunity in Marion represented a chance to actively help rural North Carolinians in need. One of my lasting memories of the experience was the appreciation expressed by the families we met; they were sincerely thankful for the volunteers.”

Malone joined Sotak in Marion for three days of emergency rapid recovery organized by the N.C. Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters group Baptists on Mission. They worked with other volunteers to remove waterlogged furniture, flooring and insulation from homes so that contractors could begin to restore them.

Community-campus partnerships can play an important part in bridging gaps in both short- and long-term disaster recovery. UNC Rural offers their core principles to campus partners as they engage with communities, especially those in North Carolina’s 78 rural counties:

• Relationship-driven collaboration: We foster long-term, transformational relationships built on transparency.
• Accountability to community: We ensure our work aligns with the priorities of rural communities.
• Community expertise: We honor community members’ knowledge and lived experiences and encourage other campus partners to do the same.
• Creativity and commitment to action: We find innovative ways to partner that result in tangible action and local impact.
• Inclusion: We welcome everyone as partners.

“I encourage anyone who can get involved in relief efforts in 2025 to volunteer,” said Sotak.

Read more about Helene recovery and volunteer.