Grassroots Disaster Preparedness Listening Tour
July 18 - August 27
When Hurricane Helene hit western North Carolina, the problem was not that people did not want to help. Trucks were ready. Neighbors were ready. Supplies were somewhere. What kept breaking down was information. People did not know what was open, where help was, or who to trust.
That gap between a community in need and the help trying to reach it is what Nearby Nearby Network is being built to close. But before we build any more of it, we need to hear from the people who experienced it, whether they lived through it, volunteered, or were a concerned neighbor watching their community struggle.
This summer we are making eight stops across North Carolina, mountains to the coast. At each one we sit down with a small group and ask four things. What worked. What did not. Who and what you trusted when everything else fell apart. And what would have made the biggest difference.
We want to hear from everyone who has a piece of this. The people who lived through Helene, Florence, or a flood that never made the news. The people who stayed and held their community together. The people who drove in from three counties over with a truck full of supplies. The people who have never been through a disaster but love their community too much to look away. Every one of you saw something the rest of us did not, and you know things no outside expert ever will.
What you share is what shapes what we build.
Location
Various Locations across NC
