A COLLABORATIVE CALL FOR ACTION
Investing in a Just Recovery:
One Year Since Helene, Too Long for Eastern NC.
North Carolina’s people and their communities are being left behind. We’ve seen heroic efforts by neighbors, volunteers, community-based organizations, philanthropy, and local and state public servants. But billions more in federal and state reimbursements and investments are needed to ensure a #JustRecovery for everyone, everywhere.
Members of the North Carolina Inclusive Disaster Recovery Network weigh in on this need in the stories that follow. They talk about what it takes to make sure that people have good food to eat, four walls to cook it in, meaningful work to support their families with dignity, and a community that’s ready for the next disaster.
As with all of our work, these stories represent a collaborative effort. Special thanks to the organizations who contributed these stories: Disability Rights North Carolina, Just Economics of Western North Carolina, North Carolina Black Alliance, North Carolina Budget & Tax Center, North Carolina Housing Coalition, North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, North Carolina Network of Grantmakers, and North Carolina Rural Center.
Want to join our campaign for a #JustRecoveryNC?
Here’s how.
1. Contact your state legislators to urge stronger appropriations for disaster recovery and resilience.
2. Ask your US Senators and House Representatives to demand that our state and local governments get the federal reimbursements they were promised.
3. Amplify these messages on social media using #JustRecoveryNC.
4. Support local organizations working on housing, disability rights, rural recovery, and resilience
STORIES FROM OUR MEMBERS
Read, learn, share, and join us in our call for a #JustRecoveryNC for everyone, everywhere.
WHEN THE SKIES TURN GREY
Building Resilient Communities in Eastern North Carolina
“Community-based organizations such as churches, nonprofits, and grassroots groups, which form the backbone of small towns, found themselves responding to immediate needs while being largely excluded from formal recovery planning. These organizations, many of which receive support from organizations like Camber Foundation, understood that disasters don’t create problems so much as they reveal and amplify existing vulnerabilities.”
Read On
STATE AND FEDERAL ACTION URGENTLY NEEDED
Are we learning the right lessons from Hurricane Helene?
by Will McDow, Environmental Defense Fund
“Community-based organizations such as churches, nonprofits, and grassroots groups, which form the backbone of small towns, found themselves responding to immediate needs while being largely excluded from formal recovery planning. These organizations, many of which receive support from organizations like Camber Foundation, understood that disasters don’t create problems so much as they reveal and amplify existing vulnerabilities.”
Read On
IT’S NOT TOO LATE FOR LEGISLATORS TO ACT
A New Precedent for North Carolina Recovery
by Sam Stites, Just Economics of Western North Carolina
“As the months continued and the federal funding landscape changed dramatically, it became clear that NC state leaders dramatically overestimated the federal government’s willingness to fund meaningful disaster relief… One year after Helene, it is not too late for the North Carolina General Assembly, in coordination with the federal government or otherwise, to pass meaningful relief packages to promote sustainable and resilient economies for the disaster region, and put an end to the crawling decline in economic security that so many are facing. ”
Read On
ONGOING INVESTMENTS, NOT ONE-OFF SOLUTIONS
Analysis: North Carolina’s recovery effort on repeat
by Jovita Lee, Ed.D. and Yolanda Taylor, NC Black Alliance
“It is no coincidence the divestment is particularly prevalent in the southeastern region of the United States, where the highest concentration of Black and Brown people reside. Specific to North Carolina, we still have neighbors in the eastern part of the state who have yet to recover from Hurricane Florence and Hurricane Matthew due to poor policy decisions and unnecessary administrative burdens created by the failed ReBuild NC program, which left some survivors in limbo, preventing them from accessing the additional recovery support they needed. Those communities are predominantly Black and Brown, too.”
Read On
NO MORE TAX CUTS
Western North Carolinians deserve a budget that prioritizes people
by Alex Campbell, North Carolina Budget & Tax Center
“Instead, our state budget writers are pushing ahead with unpopular tax cuts for profitable corporations and the ultra-wealthy that will cost our state billions in revenue that is urgently needed to respond to community needs. When fully phased in, for example, the Senate’s proposed tax cuts would mean over $10 billion per year in lost revenue compared to today’s tax rates. Meanwhile, the House and Senate’s continued commitment to eliminating the corporate income tax will enrich out-of-state corporate executives and shareholders while doing nothing to help everyday North Carolinians like you and me.”
Read On
HOUSING MATTERS
Analysis: North Carolina’s recovery effort on repeat
by Stephanie Watkins-Cruz and Anna Patterson, North Carolina Housing Coalition
“The path to long term, just recovery will require intentional, reliable, and resilient investment in housing. The federal and state funding that has been allocated so far is still only a fraction of what is needed in order to rebuild, and the years-long process will require additional resources that allow individuals and families to remain in their communities. The longer the delays in funding, the more displacement we will see.”
Read On
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ACTION
Governor Stein, NCDEQ Deliver Relief to Victims of Hurricane Helene While Trump Administration Impedes Recovery
by North Carolina League of Conservation Voters
“A year ago this week, Hurricane Helene devastated communities across our state, especially those in Western NC. Here’s who has helped (and hindered) recovery efforts.”
Read On
THE NEEDS FAR OUTPACE OUR AVAILABLE DOLLARS
A Reflection on Philanthropy’s Role One Year after Helene
by Sarah Mann Willcox, North Carolina Network of Grantmakers
“You could liquidate every foundation in North Carolina, every last asset, and still fall more than $35 billion short of the expected recovery bill.”
Read On
ROAD TO RECOVERY
Labor Force and Unemployment Post-Helene
by Dalton Bailey, NC Rural Center
“In this first of a series of reports, we analyze labor force and unemployment data to determine the labor force impacts of Helene as compared to Florence. We find that after the initial impacts, much of the region has recovered, but that some areas are still working on coming back from this generational storm.”
Read On
VOLUNTEERISM RELIES ON SUSTAINED INVESTMENTS
Recovery is the longer, quieter work that follows.
by North Carolina Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
“The VOAD movement is built on volunteers, yet volunteerism alone cannot meet the immense challenges left in the wake of Hurricane Helene… Too often, funding and resources dissipate long before communities are fully restored, leaving survivors without the support they need to complete their recovery. Sustained investment is critical if we are to avoid repeating this cycle of unfinished recovery.”
Read On
And more from around the web.
One Year After Helene, New Perspectives on Our Worst Storms | North Carolina State Climate Office, 9/25/2025
Still here together. Still healing together. | Swannanoa Communities Together, 9/25/2025
Facing the Flood: Dispatching from Organizing and Survival in Hurricane Helene | ROAR, 9/25/2025
When the Rain Came: Helene Tested Small Businesses. Trusted Support Organizations Stepped Up. | LISC, 9/25/2025
As FEMA Helene money slowly arrives, NC lawmakers wonder: Are there faster options? by Galen Bacharier | NC Newsline, 9/24/2025
Blog: Reflecting and Rebuilding, One Year After Hurricane Helene by Jessica Arriens | ReImagine Appalachia, 9/2025
Commentary: Where does Western NC stand a year after Helene? by Dan Crawford | NC Newsline, 9/23/2025
Opinion: Distributed energy sources provided reliable, vital power during Helene by Maureen Quinlan | Citizen Times, 9/20/2025
Repairing Our Region After Helene by Molly Moore | Appalachian Voices, 07/23/2025
Trump undermined Biden’s FEMA in North Carolina. Now the cleanup is lagging on his watch. by Zack Colman | POLITICO, 05/22/2025