Asheville has shown the power of local. The power of community. And we have shown our resilience.
The Red Cross is working with our community to help build that resilience. Representatives from the Red Cross visited 103.3 this week to discuss their work and their mission.
“Building resilient communities is something we…are committed to,” they said. In addition to immediate recovery efforts, the Red Cross helps communities prepare by teaching emergency preparedness in schools, and they stay long after a disaster to lessen the effects of repeat disasters. They recognize that they are in the same areas often—Florida for hurricanes, California for wildfires and, more recently, Arizona for excessive heat—but they are no less committed to the rare spots where disaster hits. And they recognize that even though Helene may have been a once-in-a-generation event, the need to install future disaster readiness in Asheville is essential. The Red Cross says that long term recovery is a part of their operations; they cannot and will not walk away until people can walk around town and “aren’t talking about Helene.”
To hear the full interview, you can listen in the archives.