Limited Time Offer, Act Now! (an announcement from the front of the train)

No, I'm still not selling anything and I still don't offer any services. I do however, have authority from our conductor Jesus to let you all in on a special offer. You see, sometimes God offers extra credit. But make no mistake, it's not really extra. It's a chance to keep our point from God. You see our Father who doth live in Heaven works on a one point system. Either you have a point, or you don't. One good deed does require another. Keep this in mind as you navigate The Holy Roller Express. Now there are an abundant amount of charitable causes that you may contribute to. I would like to remind you that you should do your research and act in good faith. Today however, I have taken it upon myself to point out one of the train cars affected by hurricane Helene. Now this natural disaster did in fact wreck catastrophic damage to our Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia train cars. We did lose some beautiful souls, and I do suggest taking a moment to pray for those that are no longer with us and their families. I managed to get through to the affected train cars (I'd love to make an appearance myself but due to the size of this train I simply can't be there in person at this time). I spoke with two passengers that have been lovingly and painstakingly serving their communities. We will call them by their first names today. Missy and Frank. What follows is their report. I do implore you to read this to its conclusion. (Edited to redact sensitive information and grammatical errors. And to make the report cohesive as it pertains to the story of this train. You have my word this is all true and accurate information, as far as I can ascertain.) Now remember, I am the Torchbearer. The writer, the observer, faithful follower of Jesus. Torchbearer: So I have a request. You see, last year I met a few people from Asheville NC just as they were learning the roads home were being shut down due to flooding. Now, I know it's been a hot minute, but if you are one of those people from those affected areas in NC, I'd like to know how you are doing and what the situation is currently. I'm doing a push in the other train cars for donations and I'm curious. Which groups, organizations, and funds are actually helping you? Is there an airdrop relief fund for those without access to water in Chimney Rock? Is that still an issue? I'm looking for reliable funds and organizations that you are actually seeing provide help. This isn't about the government, viral videos on social media, or any politicians leveraging your situation for any sort of gain. Let's keep this about what is still needed for those affected. Missy: Samaritans Purse and Cajun Navy 2016 are doing the most in the area. I'm in the Charlotte area but watching things closely. The main needs right now are propane, heaters, warm sleeping bags, etc. It's snowing in the mountains as well as freezing temps.

Samaritan's Purse https://www.samaritanspurse.org/disaster/hurricane-helene

Cajun Navy 2016 https://pinnaclesar.org/

These are the two that our local groups have supported and have seen with feet on the ground helping.

Also, as for the ones with access, Chimney Rock had some WV guys come build roads so those people could get deliveries etc. I have close friends who live right outside Lake Lure. I have worked with a group who has made several trips to the area with donations. Every little bit helps these families. Torchbearer: Thank you Missy. Thank you Samaritan's Purse and Cajun Navy 2016. Thank you men and women in the West Virginia train car. It doesn't appear you had much to give, that must have been hard on you. Your hard work has been noted.

I'd like to let our passengers know that according to Charity Navigator, Samaritan's Purse is considered a highly-rated charity with a 4-star rating. This charity's score is 100%, earning it a Four-Star rating.

According to Charity Navigator Cajun Navy has a 2/4 star review. This charity has a 75/100 score. It's safe to say that they are doing a great job over there and have a passing grade. We have another kind soul that would like to provide some insight. Thank you Frank, you have our attention. Frank: I live here in Asheville and am involved with the efforts to help out here. There are several that I am immediately aware of and can recommend. I would like to make a general comment first:

Most of us have adequate water and food. But supplies are dwindling. But right now most people have needs closer to the following:

- warm clothes

- propane

- heaters

- Most important - money donations. Most of the folks here that were affected are either desperately needing shelter (many still living in tents), or trying to get their homes back to a livable condition, many have lost their jobs and there's simply no jobs here now. A lot of those people (and local businesses) depend almost entirely on the seasonal tourism to get by for the whole year and the storm hit right before that was supposed to happen. And killed any income possibilities. - Also, many had FEMA vouchers for temporary housing, and they are running out now. I think they were for 2 months, but I know folks who can't stay in hotels now and have no money or possible source of income until the jobs start to come back. - Asheville *just* got drinking water, two months after the storm.

That being said, here's what I have, with details on them. I'll list two general ones first, then some that are very personal to me. - Beloved Asheville (https://www.facebook.com/BeLovedAsheville). They are a group local to Asheville who have been doing a TON for asheville. It's only for the city of Asheville, not the surrounding areas, but that doesn't take away from what they are doing to help so many people out in the city. - Help Marshall (https://helpmarshall.org/) This is the organization that is coordinating for the small town next to where I live. It's where I was helping to dig out right after the storm. They are a small town, and don't get the attention that Asheville city proper gets. It was totally devastated, and just got traffic lights up on the main street. Businesses are still closed, people are still trying to get the basics. I can vouch for this organization personally. - Long Road Home Sanctuary (https://www.facebook.com/LongRoadHomeSanctuary). This is an animal rescue sanctuary close to me, and it's somewhere that I've been helping to rebuild personally as well. I can vouch for them first hand. also a 5013-c, tax deductible and legit. The roads are still barely passable with a 4wd, and lots of the road headed up there is barely one lane, with stop lights so only one vehicle at a time can pass the dangerous areas. The person who runs it lives on the property, and everything was leveled. He also works full time while running this place, and every dollar donated (as well as his own money) goes into the rescue. He also does a lot of distribution of food and supplies himself to others. He's outside of the city, and help has been almost non-existent for him. FEMA has not gotten him any relief yet, just like a lot of others, because they are just backed up so much. (Note: FEMA has been doing a TON of great stuff here, and without them we would be in a much worse place, and a lot more people would have been dead. They just can't keep up with the demand). Monetary money is needed badly for the sanctuary. (the next links have been redacted, we are sharing her funds by word of mouth across the train to protect her identity. However, we are allowing Frank to tell her story as it is important to him and as a reward for his efforts) - Tammy B (-REDACTED GOFUNDME and REDACTED FACEBOOK LINK-) This is a very close personal friend of mine. She lost her place of employment during the flood, it was washed away completely. She's been doing any job she can since then, but is having a lot of trouble trying to make rent. I've personally helped her as much as I can. She has been through the ringer with this, lost many family members and friends. She lived in Fairview, and is now just outside Swannanowa. She's hoping that her old job will come back some time in the next few months, because it's almost impossible for anyone to find work now. She also doesn't drive, which makes things even more difficult. Public transport isn't great here, but she uses it whenever it's available to anywhere near where she has to go. She takes care of her daughter and son as much as she can, as well as her grand kids, which are the world to her. If you want to help someone on the personal level, please consider Tammy B. I absolutely can vouch for her personally.

Thanks for asking before posting. There's a lot of scammers out there right now. Torchbearer: Now, I have another follow up question when you get around to it. What could the government have done better to assist your area, and what efforts did you or didn't you see from them that would be expected?

I know a lot of the federal, state, and county response (government, FEMA, etc) is usually behind the scenes, especially in the months after something like this. Are you able to speak to what they did or didn't do?

Your answers to me will hopefully help me get people involved. I think our community (Thats the Holy Roller Express for those wondering. We need all of you.) will respond and relate well to your highly detailed answer. Exactly what I needed. Frank: So, from my view point and what I and my friends have experienced:

FEMA was there immediately. They got water, food and shelter to a lot of people.

The pros, offhand:

- Immediately there.

- Helped a lot of people, still are, and have semi-permanent offices here now.

- Have made in person help readily available.

- Did a good job dispelling rumors on their site. It's unfortunate that they even had to do that.

- Lots of people got the immediate emergency aid quickly, as well as hotel vouchers.

- Despite being met with armed people who didn't like them being there. More than once. In each instance they calmly spoke to the people, set them straight, and in the end for both cases I'm aware of, the people who showed up with guns ended up volunteering their time to help out with the rescue efforts. The cons:

- Slow to getting trailers to people. They just started coming.

- Slow to get monetary relief to people who applied, except for those that immediately applied. i.e. I have friends who have gotten aid to rebuild already, but the majority of my friends are still waiting on funds, even though they have been told that they have everything in order. People are getting checks, but they are coming slowly.

- The web site is confusing for applying for aid. Most of the people I have talked to got turned down, and had to either call or go in person to appeal, and then got their money.

- The hold times for the help line were often several hours long.

- There was an issue with an adjuster not going to houses with signs supporting Trump. While *I* don't support Trump, I also don't support not helping people because of their political affiliations. The employees responsible have been dealt with, but I thought it deserved mentioning.

The unfortunate:

- There was/is a lot of misinformation out there about FEMA. They had to spend resources battling false information.

- One of the rumours was that they were confiscating supplies from people who were donating. That's just plain false.

- There were complaints that they were turning people away who wanted to help. The truth is that people were turned away when they tried to enter on roads that were closed off, usually because bridges were out, or the roads were otherwise impassible.

- There were rumours that people had to pay back anything they got from FEMA. This is also untrue, and people didn't apply for aid because they were afraid that FEMA would take their property if they couldn't pay it back. This is totally untrue.

- People complained that FEMA wasn't there at their location to rescue them immediately, or that they didn't see FEMA there at all. People need to understand how this works. They start in the most populated areas, and work their way out from there. They couldn't be rescuing people everywhere immediately. This stuff takes time. The National Guard:

- I saw them all the time, including in Marshall where they showed up and helped out a ton.

- They had supply stations set up all over, even out by where I lived.

I saw them everywhere, with water stations, helping out digging out places, etc. I can't speak any more on that, just that they were everywhere. SBA (Small Business Administration):

- Apparently they were also everywhere, but I didn't have to deal with them at all. County Government:

- Buncombe county did, and is doing, a wonderful job getting help and information out there. They had community stations set up with food, water, showers and laundry facilities all over *inside the city of asheville*. There was no water in the city for 2 months. As far as I know, no one in the city had to go without water. Outside of the city, it's more complicated, since I am not sure if setting up those centers would have made much sense, since we have a much more spread out population out here.

- There were daily updates on the local radio station about the situation. The water supply, how to get help, etc.

- I can't say anything negative about how they handled it, but others may have had a different experience.

State:

- I know that the governor (Governor Roy Cooper) did a really good job communicating what was going on and the progress being made. I reposted the daily updates quite often. There seems to be a good amount of money coming in to help rebuild the infrastructure here. I don't have enough experience at this level to comment more though. Local/Volunteers:

- This is BY FAR where the most help has come from. I'm not sure where teams like the swift boat rescue folks are categorized, or the local fire departments (fire and rescue) etc.

- There were countless stories of people who, either on their own, or with a team like the fire department, or swift boat rescue saved someone's life. It could have been by diving into the raging waters and pulling someone out, all the way to just getting water to someone during the first week, or food to someone in the first few weeks. We had first responders here from all over the country, as well as Canada and Mexico. Everyone I talked to said that they just got in their vehicles, or on a plane or whatever, and just drove here immediately. This includes the linesmen who saved our butts out here and are still helping to rebuild our infrastructure. While the linesmen are getting paid, we would be screwed without them.

The most help I've seen personally is from individual groups and individuals coordinating efforts to get supplies to people who need them. Every fire department, tons of churches, local volunteer groups, and local businesses have all really stepped up with the efforts to get things stable again. Every time I've gone to help someone or in an area I've passed, there were countless groups handing out supplies. People just showing up to get stuff done, people just driving in from out of town with cars/trucks/trailers full of supplies to help. When I was in Marshall digging out there, groups of people would come in and register with the volunteer coordinator, and got to work. There was always food, ppe, and water for everyone who volunteered. And, I can tell you that I was going through multiple respirators a day. Along with tons of other PPE like gloves, tyvex suits, etc. People showed up and donated what they could, and it made all the difference in the world. Individuals were everywhere helping out. My neighbor (out here a neighbor can be a couple of miles away) had electricity and a well. He ended up becoming a local center handing out supplies. I was there filling buckets of water daily for people I knew and getting them to people who didn't have any access to any water whatsoever. There are countless stories like this and every person like my friend (neighbor) can tell you tons of stories about people helping people. For the most part, people were great. However.... - The bad:

- People pulled guns. People attacked supply convoys. People assaulted other people. My first hand experience with this was a guy that pulled a gun on the gas station folks right by my house minutes after I left. I don't live in a heavily populated area. There was an assault at another gas station within a week of that. I have been told about two separate occasions where people stopped and robbed supply convoys, but I didn't see those with my own eyes. And it's hard to fault people who are in a desperate situation. I don't know if the folks who did that needed the supplies, or stole them to resell them. - There was a Dr. here who was taking things from supply stations and reselling them. He was caught and procesuted, but it's worth noting that people do messed up stuff in situations like these sometimes.

I'm not sure if this is what you were looking for, but I hope it helps. Thank you! Torchbearer: Thank you so much! I have seen a lot of misinformation and rumors as well and I also was not sure how to seperate fact from fiction. Your answers are going to be very helpful dispelling any myths and highlighting what is currently going on in these areas. God bless you! I'll see what we can do with this information. It's going to help a lot! Thank you FEMA, National Guard, SBA, the county of Buncombe, Governor Roy Cooper, local and state volunteers, first responders from the US/Canada/Mexico, and every single person that has helped or contributed in some way. YOUR HARD WORK MAKES AMERICA GREAT! Frank and his friends would like me to relay one more thing. While some areas are in some working order....there is still SO MUCH devastation. SO MUCH!

WNC STRONG is a reliable source for information on helping and needs and updates on conditions 👇👇

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Creator: Gerald Herbert | Credit: AP | CC 4.0