‘It threw us back’: People living in public housing in Asheville cope in post-Helene life
Since Helene struck, Kyesha Nelson and TJ Wilson have been making long treks across Asheville, Western North Carolina's hub that's still reeling from the storm.
The couple stood on Friday by a dormant bus stop in Hillcrest, one of Asheville's public housing communities. When Helene ravaged Western North Carolina, they left their home in Fairview and stayed with Wilson's mother at Hillcrest.
"I just have to get my baby somewhere I can walk around," Nelson remembered thinking.
The theory: It'd be easier to get essentials. Her six-month-old, Tykwon, needs special milk. He was born prematurely, his mother said.
Hillcrest has no power or running water, a common struggle for people in Asheville and Western North Carolina since the historic, devastating storm.
Nelson and Wilson face yet another challenge. They have no car. Without the city's bus system running, people without transportation — including those living in low-income housing like Hillcrest — are on foot in Asheville's winding, hilly roads.
"When you have smaller children, walking is not always the best thing you can do," Nelson said. "Or the safest."
A common issue
In a Sept. 28 notice , the city said buses have been redirected to relief efforts. ART — or Asheville Rides Transit — brought 578 people to shelters, that notice said.
"The service also continues to face power outages, road conditions, and staffing shortages," it said. All services are suspended "until further notice."
In West Asheville's Pisgah View Apartments, Cicely Rogers is dealing with "more stress" without a way to get around town, she said.
She has family in the area, but not nearby. Amboy Road flooded early, making it a challenge for them to get to her, she said. And she's not even sure what the roads are like where her sister lives in Buncombe County.
Water is the chief concern for many because everyone in the city is without fresh water. Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer has warned that it will take some time, at least weeks, for it to return.
Pisgah View had power Thursday, drawing in family members, said Tykerria Robinson-Williams. Her focus was stocking up as much water as she could, unsure how long necessities would be hard to come by.
She worried how far back the storm would set the people living in Pisgah View.
"We really can't afford to leave our homes behind. We weren't doing too good before, so now... it threw us back 10 more steps when we're trying to get 10 steps ahead," she said.
Friends, family and neighbors have been helping each other across the region.
"Really, I'm just counting on my friends to look out for me," said Reggie Moore, who lives in Deaverview, another public housing community that's close to Aston Park. He's worried about older people there, who can't get out.
"I think they need a bit more help than what they're getting," he said.
One such woman, who asked not to be named, said she relies on the bus system. Even if she walked downtown, she might not find an ATM with cash or a store that's stocked, she said.
'We all need to pull our part'
Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder said the county has been working with community partners to distribute food to public housing communities.
"Community paramedics have been on the ground since this began, taking water to our housing authority areas," Pinder said.
Some residents told The Charlotte Observer about food and water being dropped off, and even a food truck cooking hot meals.
Lolita Ray also rides the bus. She's lived in Hillcrest for about five years. Without it, she's relying on her daughter for rides to and from Sam's Club, where her daughter works.
Water cases rested at a neighbor's front door Friday. Ray put them there. And she spent her morning cleaning up trash on the streets in Hillcrest. The trash irked her.
"Right now, we all need to pull our part and come together," she said.
By the afternoon, there was some new and much-needed relief at Hillcrest. The community center filled with donations, and water stacked high outside. Residents carried out diapers, snacks, water and more.
Later that week, the city announced that on Monday the bus system will "begin operating a modified schedule on select routes where road conditions have improved."
