Western North Carolina has been devastated by a 1,000 year flood following Hurricane Helene. Recovery will take decades and more than $100 billion dollars. It will be imperative that the rebuild be locally led, and that it center equity and resiliency.
The people of Appalachia and Western NC are resilient, proud, and independent. The region has a rich and celebrated cultural history that is at extreme risk in the aftermath of Helene. Already, we are seeing evidence of the arrival of a “second storm,” namely predatory real estate and mining speculators, vicious disinformation, and tenant abuse. In a region that is also known for deep systemic poverty, working people of all races risk the loss of their homes, their land, and their cultural heritage if profitteers are not checked, and if recovery does not center their needs
We need to ensure that everyone who calls Western NC home can stay. This includes Indigenous communities, migrant workers, and white working-class Appalachians. Keep WNC Home is a region-wide campaign to help Western NC’s people survive both Helene and the “second storm,” protecting and celebrating the cultural legacy of Appalachia and building a more resilient and equitable Western North Carolina.
Keep WNC Home will celebrate the rich cultural legacy of the region while clarifying who the real enemy is: not each other, not FEMA, but the people who are looking to profit off our misfortune at the expense of our land, culture, and identity.
Keep WNC Home 