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When I was visiting family for Christmas just a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to partner with a local church and deliver Christmas gifts and supplies to families in my home county under population of 20,000, nestled on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee. .
This experience gave me the opportunity to listen to the stories of my neighbors, many of whom I have known my whole life.
A story struck me. A multi-generational household of six living in a fifth wheel. They had lost their home and everything they held dear except their faith.
HURRICANE HELENE: 'The Backbone of America' Helping Southeast Farmers Who Lost Billions in Crops and Land
Unfortunately, their story is all too familiar in the small mountain communities of the southern Appalachians.
It's been almost five months since Hurricane Helene forever reshaped the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina.
In the months that followed, we saw the true nature of humanity.
Our community came together. Businesses are helping each other clean up and rebuild. Churches continue to deliver warm clothing and hot meals on foot and on horseback. Nonprofit organizations across the Southeast are delivering needed supplies such as diapers, blankets and formula.
It was Elon Musk, with the help of private citizens like former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and the Cajun Navy, who delivered Starlink routers to every crevice of Western North Carolina, connecting us to the outside world.
Western North Carolina and the southern Appalachians are rebuilding themselves.
The federal government has been slow to respond and help despite the incredible efforts of leaders like Congressman Chuck Edwards and Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd.
Partisan politics slowed relief efforts, with many in Raleigh and Washington favoring party over people.
With temperatures dropping and snow falling each week, many North Carolinians remain unhoused and rely on tents for shelter.
FEMA delivered trailers to the region but failed to effectively approve those who applied for them nearly five months ago.
The light shining through this storm is the resilience of Appalachia. Despite instigators on both sides trying to use this disaster for their own political gain, our communities have come together and helped each other.
Cities like Marshall, North Carolina, plan to reopen in the coming months, even though more than half the city has been destroyed by floodwaters.
In the over 25 years that I have lived in Western North Carolina, we are stronger than I have ever seen before.
However, the strength and resilience of our community can only maintain our perception of normalcy for so long.
Western North Carolina is desperate.
Leaders on both sides must hold accountable the government bureaucracy that defies the needs of our communities.
Winter is just beginning. As temperatures drop below 10% and wind chills hit negative, churches and nonprofits are stepping up to fill the ever-present void left by ineffective government bureaucracy.
It was time to act five months ago, but better action late than no action.
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Our community desperately needs investments in affordable housing and infrastructure to boost our local economies and give families the resources they need to get back on their feet.
Insurance companies redefine flood zones; many families are being evicted from their homes and property. The Small Business Administration is strapped for cash, slowing recovery in areas that desperately need economic opportunity. And county and municipal governments are counting on the slow distribution of disaster relief funds to bring essential agencies back online.
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This is not a political issue and should not be controversial. For over 100 years, Appalachia has been neglected by our federal government. Today, when we need it most, they still don't bother to act urgently.
Appalachia will not be defined by Hélène; it will be defined by the massive response of the people who inhabit these mountains.