Western North Carolina nonprofits, business owners eager for latest relief funds
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- On Wednesday, Senate Bill 382 officially became law in North Carolina, providing hundreds of millions in new Hurricane relief funding for western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The controversial bill carves out $227 million in new aid but ties it to changes in the political landscape -- including reforms that strip certain powers away from the incoming governor and attorney general.
As that money comes online, western North Carolina nonprofits and business owners say the new funds can't come soon enough.
"Having any additional money is going to be phenomenal, and it's needed really bad," said Bradley Honeycutt, founder of Appalachian Disaster Coalition.
A lot of the physical needs have been met. But financial is what's needed right now because just the rebuilding needs are just so great.- Emily Young, Bakersville business owner
Honeycutt started the no-profit after Helene tore its path through the mountains, including his hometown of Burnsville. The coalition collects aid and supplies from across the country and gets it to the mountains, and also fundraises for efforts such as heating and homebuilding.
"Our nonprofit, like our goal, is to rebuild 30 homes and we feel strong about it," he said.
He said that for nonprofits such as his, the need for financial help is as great as ever.
"Like we need $200,000 per house at the minimum. And, you know, we need donors, we need fundraisers," he said.
Emily Young, who owns Happy Hens and Highlands Farm in Bakersville -- a town of just a few hundred that was decimated by the storm -- said it's been a grueling stretch for businesses there, including her family's jewelry store in Burnsville.
"The Christmas season was really hard at the jewelry store. We didn't get, you know, anything close to the normal amount of sales. And then tourists, you know, they're just not visiting western North Carolina right now," she said.
Young is one of the countless western North Carolina business owners eagerly awaiting the latest batch of funding and said that though many roads and bridges have been repaired -- and access to more remote areas is improving -- that's come at a great cost.
"A lot of the physical needs have been met. But financial is what's needed right now because just the rebuilding needs are just so great," Young said.
