For some of us, the hurricane may be a distant memory. For others, the debris from the storm may still be in their backyard. I know that, whereas my life is back to normal, I am still surprised when the tap turns on and drinkable water flows from it. Regardless of where we all are in the recovery process, we all went through Hurricane Helene together, and I hope to always remember Asheville’s response to the catastrophe.
Three days after Helene left us without power or water, it began raining again. It was only a sprinkle, and when the light caught it just right, it became a sun shower. Looking up, I searched the skies for a rainbow and found one. Arcing over my house was a beautiful band of color against the purple-blue clouds behind. It struck me how something so beautiful could come right after a natural disaster that uprooted our lives so thoroughly.
Walking around West Asheville, I saw the same beauty sprout from our community. In the span of a 20-minute walk, I would pass dozens of people offering help to those who needed it. Two of my neighbors offered to let us use a generator, and several people shared the resources they were lucky enough to have collected. I saw so many people offering aid, whether it was passing out supplies, cooking food, lending resources or even just checking to make sure each other’s families were all right.
I saw a real strength in the community of Asheville, and I’m happy that I got to watch people lift each other up in times of crisis rather than tear each other down. It is a wonderful trait of humanity to come together in times of struggle, but that trait often goes overlooked in the face of more horrific news stories, and I think this is a terrible loss.
Our community’s strength and sharing after Helene was a light in a power outage, a rainbow after a storm, and I’m proud to say that I’m a member of Asheville’s strong community.
— Juniper Finneron
Ninth grade
Asheville
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