Bridging The Gaps is addressing the next phase of the post-Helene crisis in Western North Carolina – the still-unfolding economic and housing impacts on our community. Thousands of people lost their livelihoods and are in danger of eviction. Through hyper-local organizing, we connect individuals and communities to available resources, and co-create strategies to advocate for meaningful governmental intervention. Our priority remains ensuring the short and long-term security and stability of historically marginalized members of our community.

This project is a collaborative initiative of The People’s Place, OURavl, real eyes consulting with tamarie, llc, DeepWeave.com, The Listening Post Collective (Internews), YMI Cultural Center, GAP AVL, JD Ellison & Co., OG Synergy, and Noir Collective AVL.

Our Mission

Bridging the Gaps’ primary focus is on identifying and supporting those neighborhoods, community clusters, and pockets of people that are in danger of being bypassed by the broader relief efforts. Communities that were well-resourced before the storm are generally better able to tap into relief opportunities than those communities that were already being bypassed by existing systems.

The Bridging the Gaps work is being done by a team of organizers, many of whom are volunteering their time, as well as a small support staff, made up of community members who have been economically impacted by the storm, to whom we are able to offer short-term employment opportunities.