Restore Ann's Home and Business Post-Hurricane

Ann is my daughter's (Trinity, Sadie, and Railey) tutor, mentor, trainer, coach, guide, someone they look up to and trust, and most importantly, she has become their friend! Not only to my girls, but to me as well. She has helped my three girls in different and unique ways. I could never repay her for what she has given to my girls, but I can certainly try to help her rebuild her life!

Ann is a lifelong educator with two teen sons and two beloved dogs who has built a life in Asheville. Her home is down a gravel road tucked into an oak forest. Her home and business were greatly affected by Hurricane Helene.

Most people have seen the destruction caused by floods in the area, but what many haven’t seen is the treefall from the wind and rain that affected those who live in the forest. Ann and her family were spared from the flooding, but they were pounded by treefall. Every large red oak on their land and within the adjacent Blue Ridge Parkway corridor came down, bringing many other trees with them. They were home at the time of the storm and experienced hours of hearing and feeling the trees fall around and on top of them.

Ann and her family then spent three days cutting themselves out after the storm, using an electric chainsaw that they had to charge at the local fire department a mile away. City services were too busy to help at the time, and Ann, being a backpacker for years, was prepared to use her camping equipment until they could make their way out. A local friend hiked over the mountain to check on them and brought a gas saw that made a real difference! Once out, Ann’s family focused on fundraising to support others who needed immediate support. They raised enough funds to buy food, gas, chainsaws, and water for locals in East Asheville. Meanwhile, they searched for a place to live and researched disaster aid. They found a crane to remove the four large oak trees from their roof and were grateful for survival.

Now, this family could use support. FEMA, the Small Business Authority, and home insurance have provided little assistance for this family. They have needed to separate to be housed and are awaiting repairs to their home. This week, they attended four funerals for friends and family who died in the storm. Ann’s clients are mostly families who were affected by the storm and cannot afford her services at this time. The public school students that she supports under NPOs are out of school. She has her own trauma to process and spends 3-4 hours a day on the phone with FEMA, the SBA, D-SNAP, and insurance trying to determine eligibility for support and push through paperwork. The SBA is not currently funding loans for those affected by the hurricane, and FEMA does not fund those with insurance. Insurance does not cover flood damage, so even though their house was not flooded, the cause of damages is not covered due to the city water pipes being affected by flood.

This family could use support to allow Ann to process the ongoing trauma of the event, to fund sawyers to help remove trees still leaning dangerously on the land, and to fund repairs to their gravel road. These efforts will allow Ann to return to seeing clients on-site when she has the capacity to do so. If you would like to visit her website to understand her services, see jabberwockypedagogy.com.