Bridging The Gaps after Hurricane Helene
Bridging The Gaps is mobilizing to address the most immediate needs and also preparing to address the additional challenges these communities will face in the months to come. The top (though not exclusive) priority is ensuring the short and long-term security and stability of Black community members. This project is a collaborative initiative of the YMI Cultural Center, The People’s Place, JD Ellison & Co., Noir Collective AVL, OG Synergy, OURavl, Eagle Market Streets Development Corp., Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), and other community partners.
Bridging the Gaps primary short-term 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 – the elderly, differently abled, or those who lack access to a vehicle (or gasoline) or the ability to stand in long lines.
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.
Once the immediate crisis begins to abate, and people have reliable access to water, food, immediate shelter, and other necessities, Bridging the Gaps will expand our focus to include the forthcoming crises in Western North Carolina – the loss of economic stability and permanent housing.
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