Hands on Jackson is a day where community volunteer teams rally together to lend a helping hand to vulnerable neighbors in need. Mountain Projects was among more than 210 volunteers who completed 38+ projects today around Jackson County this morning.
Mountain Projects’ disaster recovery work in Haywood County after Hurricane Helene was detailed in a recent news feature in the regional newspaper Smoky Mountain News. Thank you to the Smoky Mountain News and reporter Lily Levin for the coverage! “I would listen to these calls. The National Weather Service would
“Our house was just destroyed,” she said. “The water line was inches from the ceiling, and it had tossed around our appliances like they were nothing.”
Many Appalachians lean on their faith for strength during a crisis, but one family along the Pigeon River near Clyde found echoes of their spirituality all around after they watched their home destroyed in recent flooding brought on by Hurricane Helene.
“The good Lord left us here for a reason,
The moment Romulus Meares, IV, 31, of Clyde, realized his home was flooding beyond repair, with water rising to his knees, he sat down in his living room and played a final song on the piano that had been an anniversary gift to his wife and would soon be destroyed.
“It’s all devastating and heartbreaking,” says Roger. “Sometimes your mind doesn’t work right trying to think about it. But you have to keep the faith. Things happen for a reason. Each step’s gonna be a little bit better. Even this flood, it’s got its reason.”
When the flash flood came, the Tuckers had little time to react. The water was suddenly knee deep, and Nathan lashed the couple’s Jeep in place with the car wash hoses. Moments later the water was thigh deep. Nathan boosted Hadeel up onto a chest-high ledge and went back to
“If I didn’t have insurance, I would have felt reluctant to go to the hospital when I needed help. I’m grateful for Cynthia and Mountain Projects for ensuring that I could take care of myself.”
“I feel no one should have to move away if just a little help can allow them to continue living in the place they love, where they are comfortable and things are familiar.”
“It was like a dream come true,” Dayton says. “They all fell in together and fixed me right up. They’re super. They all came in here and took down my old trailer and worked with Rocky Branch Church to take up donations. And they let me stay in a motel
