ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
Recovery efforts continue across western North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. In many communities, people affected by the storm turned quickly from victim to volunteer. This network of neighbors remains a vital foundation of the relief efforts. Blue Ridge Public Radio's Gerard Albert III met some of these vital volunteers.
ROBIN LONGINOTTI: We've got soap. We've got hand sanitizer, batteries. Whatever she needs, put in this tote for me...
GERARD ALBERT III, BYLINE: Robin Longinotti is guiding two women through the Hot Springs Elementary School gym. She's carrying a cardboard box and filling it with supplies piled on the retractable bleachers.
LONGINOTTI: Hello, Susan (ph). I had you a box. Have you already picked...
SUSAN: It's gotten bigger.
LONGINOTTI: I had you a box put back. Did you...
= ALBERT: Longinotti is one of several volunteers in the gym. The place is stocked like a Walmart. There's bottled water, cleaning supplies, even solar-powered lawn lights. Longinotti evacuated before the storm hit. The floods destroyed her home. When she was able to get back there, she grabbed what she could and came here.
LONGINOTTI: 'Cause I couldn't just sit around and do nothing. I had to jump into action the very first day.
= ALBERT: This mutual aid, neighbors helping neighbors, extends throughout the entire region. After Hurricane Helene, this type of informal aid was necessary because help from the government took days to get to certain areas.
(SOUNDBITE OF WATER RUNNING)
= ALBERT: In Asheville, running water has been slow to return, leaving many with no way to flush toilets or take showers. That gave Rebekah Todd something to do.
REBEKAH TODD: Like, I'm a musician. I mean, you know, we've lost all of our musical gigs for the foreseeable future, and all we know how to do is help.
= ALBERT: Now she's leading a team that brings water to an assisted living complex.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: You need to flush?
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: All right. Let's take care of you.
= ALBERT: She's been doing it for weeks.
TODD: And as far as I know, the only people helping these people with toilet flushing and sanitation are rogue teams like my own.
= ALBERT: In the wake of the storm, a lot of volunteers like Todd were also victims of it. Libertie Valance usually works at a bookstore, but now it's become a hub for supplies.
LIBERTIE VALANCE: Currently, we've got all the bookcases moved to the outside perimeter to make as much room as possible for folks coming in and out, loading in, you know, boxes of bananas or propane stoves or what have you.
= ALBERT: Over the last three weeks, she witnessed how volunteers, who had also suffered from the storm, made up a bulk of the immediate response.
VALANCE: People and neighbors obviously had an oversized role, especially in those first few days, making sure their neighbors were right, making sure that everybody had food and water.
= ALBERT: And these volunteers keep at it as water and power are still not fully restored in western North Carolina. For NPR News, I'm Gerard Albert III in Asheville. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.