Standing Together—Fahe’s Response to Hurricane Helene’s Impact
Our hearts go out to everyone who was impacted across six states from Florida to North Carolina. Fahe is dedicating our resources to the hard-hit communities in Eastern Tennessee and Southwest Virginia in the Fahe footprint. The need for support is great—the communities we serve are flooded, missing infrastructure, and in dire need of basic supplies. Families will need rehabilitated or new housing and many communities will need new community facilities. Fahe Members will be there to rebuild homes and communities after the first responders leave.
We invite you to join us in the recovery effort by donating to the Fahe Hurricane Helene Recovery Fund.
Fahe Members from near and far have already mobilized to support each other in practical ways in the short term. For example, Kentucky-based Housing Development Alliance recently supplied a vanload of much needed donations; Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) provided a volunteer work crew to aid in “mucking out” homes, businesses, and community facilities in the affected region and Eastern 8 found local housing for CAP.
Fahe is holding regular Member check-in meetings so that we can leverage our strength in numbers. Members who have been through disasters before are sharing their knowledge. We are keenly aware that this is just the beginning of the recovery process. In this first phase, after their basic needs are met, families and organizations are preparing to navigate the complexities of FEMA and insurance applications. We have been advised that everyone should be on alert to scammers who come out of the woodwork at times like this.
The Fahe network is committed to being there for the long term. We are collecting data anecdotally and through official channels on the scope of the disaster and preparing plans for what the region needs to achieve long term recovery.
There is no question that we can use more local and state aid. We will keep advocating. We are also seeking philanthropic support, which will be channeled through the Fahe Hurricane Helene Recovery Fund. 100 percent of donations to that fund will go to the communities impacted by Hurricane Helene in Tennessee and Virginia. We hope that you will consider contributing.
We will keep everyone updated via our Hurricane Helene Recovery webpage and social media.
