ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina on Sept. 27, killing dozens of people, destroying roads, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people a leaving a scar that will be felt for years.
Sean Malone's Crisis Response International has been set up in Asheville since Oct. 1, providing the essentials needed.
The founder of the Fort Mill-based nonprofit organization told WCNC Charlotte he was actually in Florida shortly after Helene made landfall.
"We had cooked for 500 people that day and served only about 30," Malone said. "We were tracking what was going on in Asheville, and, we quickly turned around and came right here."
He's been in Asheville ever since.
"I did get to go home for about 36 hours and get some cold-weather clothes and hug my wife, pet my dog, see my kids," Malone said. "Got back right back here on the ground. Just like many other volunteers here though. They're doing the same thing."
The former first responder and film industry worker started his nonprofit after helping provide lights at Ground Zero following 9/11.
However, responding to one disaster area after another, Malone said the area in western North Carolina has a need like he's never seen.
"The fact that there's a need for hot meals this far into the event, on your typical hurricane that usually goes away in about four or five days, so, this is really an unprecedented event," he explained. "Every day, we're still shocked people coming down from the mountainous regions and areas that are kind of cut off or they just had their driveway cleared, and they said, 'This is my first hot meal in three weeks.' People are out of work here. They've lost their jobs. Maybe they have a tree in the middle of their house."
Malone said they're planning to be boots on the ground for the foreseeable future.
"Some days are easier than others, but things are slowing down," Malone added. "They're not as chaotic. We're beginning to move into what we call the recovery phase. We're moving out of the response phase. We'll be moving into the recovery phase and beginning to do more things like muck outs and debris removal, assisting homeowners and more longer term recovery."
He said his team of almost 50 in and out of state volunteers understand the mission of meeting the people of Asheville's needs and sharing hope.
"The gratitude is, it's overwhelming," Malone said. "It's one of the great joys, is just hearing people say, 'Thank you so much. Thank you for being here. This is absolutely incredible.' And then sometimes those same people come back the next day and they volunteer. There's an incredible thing happening in Asheville."
Malone said they need both volunteers and resources as they go into the winter months.
Their current needs include palletized truckloads of these items or cash to purchase supplies:
- Cereal, oatmeal, protein bars
- Flour, sugar, salt
- Rice, stuffing mix, potatoes
- Eggs, shelf-stable milk, cheese
- Onions, sweet potatoes, fresh vegetables, deodorant, razors, laundry detergent, diapers, wipes, trash bags, Ziplock bags, paper towels, toilet paper
For more information on how to help, visit Crisis Response International.
Contact Jane Monreal at jmonreal@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.