A grassroots organization known for being instrumental in helping the people of western North Carolina to recover from Hurricane Helene is giving back to flood-ravaged Texas as a reciprocal gesture of love.
BeLoved Asheville, a North Carolina-based grant partner of the Presbyterian Hunger Program, recently sent cleaning supplies and other goods to beleaguered Texas, where more than 130 people died as a result of catastrophic flooding in early July.
The outreach by BeLoved Asheville is the group’s way of giving love back to one of the states from which compassionate volunteers showed up when Helene devastated western North Carolina last September.
“Probably more than nine months ago, one of the first people that came to Asheville … were people from Texas,” said Ponkho Bermejo, a co-director of BeLoved Asheville. “So, when all this happened in Kerrville, our first reaction was thinking how we can support them because they supported us in the darkest time in western North Carolina.”
The outreach to Texas is documented on BeLoved Asheville’s Facebook page, which says in part, “After driving over 20 hours, we reached Kerrville, Texas — and it felt like returning to that Sept. 27 when Hurricane Helene tore through our WNC community. The devastation, the heartbreak ... but also the memory of Texans driving 20-plus hours to bring us supplies. … Love given can only be repaid with love.”
The Rev. Amy Cantrell, a co-director of BeLoved Asheville, said the desire to help was “visceral” when they heard about the destruction and loss of life in Texas. Among the casualties were at least 27 children and staff at Camp Mystic, and Jane Ragsdale, a ruling elder at First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville who was camp director at Heart O’ the Hills Camp for Girls in Hunt, Texas.
“We felt it in our bodies, that trauma and what those folks are going through, and we wanted to show up,” Cantrell said.
She added that BeLoved Asheville also is "supporting organizers on the ground in the wake of storms in Texas and central North Carolina, sharing wisdom and support as people who have been through disaster.”
Reaching out to others in need is a way to bring about unity and also to foster healing, Bermejo said.
In the days following Hurricane Helene, “I remember people coming from all over the country, and us being wowed, like, oh, people came from North Dakota, they came from Texas, they came from California, New York,” Cantrell said. Also, “I remember saying to people, ‘If it happens to you, we're coming.’ … We have this deep sense and understanding of mutuality, of kinship.”
BeLoved Asheville was a key source of help in North Carolina in not only Asheville but throughout devastated parts of the Appalachian region.
“Our impacted zone was so wide,” Cantrell said. “We were serving about 15,000 people every day throughout the impacted area here in western North Carolina, which is about two hours in either direction.”
“We shared millions of resources — food, water, hygiene, first aid. We had hike teams going out hiking five miles into inaccessible areas," Cantrell said. "We set up temporary water infrastructure for schools and childcare centers and communities to be able to function again, so we were just doing all sorts of different things,” including getting medication to people.
And the work is continuing. The group just completed its 100th major home repair/rebuild, Cantrell said.
BeLoved Asheville's day-to-day work focuses on creating home, health, equity and opportunity for all, according to the group's website. Projects include building an affordable housing village in East Asheville, and there’s a second village slated for hurricane-ravaged Swannanoa.
Jennifer Evans, an associate for PHP communications and national partnerships, said the work that BeLoved Asheville does is particularly important at a time when the powerful are unraveling the country’s social safety net.
BeLoved Asheville embodies “what it means to be a beloved community, rooted in justice, responsive in compassion and committed to collective care — not just for their local neighbors, but for those facing disaster across state lines. Their witness reminds us that community can rise up to stand in the gap when systems fail.”
Darla Carter, Communications Strategist, Interim Unified Agency (Click here to read original PNS Story)
Let us join in prayer for:
Marissa Galvan-Valle, Associate, Hispanic Resources & Relationships, Growing Faith Resources, Presbyterian Publishing Corporation
Greta Garbo, Accounting Clerk, Accounts Payable Office, Administrative Services Group
Let us pray:
Most gracious God, we seek your presence whenever and wherever we gather together in Christ’s name. We know you watch over us and lead us. Continue to bless us as we look for ways to share our ministry with siblings near and far. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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