'Unless you've been through it, you can't understand': Helene recovery continues in NC

More than a month after Hurricane Helene devastated regions in the southeastern United States, some communities in western North Carolina's mountain towns and villages are still without water, power, infrastructure and a regular school schedule.

While these necessities are the focus of restoration efforts, the trauma associated with loss, grief and harrowing experiences of survival could affect residents for years to come.

"I think a lot of us are shifting out of our immediate fight-flight-freeze at this moment," says Rachael Chatham, a licensed clinical mental health counselor who's been practicing in Asheville, North Carolina, for more than 10 years. "It can be incredibly challenging, especially if you have a belief system that says, 'I endure' or 'I am strong, therefore, I can do this alone' or 'I don't need anyone.'"

In the heart of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, Chatham and others say people grow up learning to be self-reliant, a trait that has helped communities trying to rebuild after the natural disaster. However, the emotional affects associated with recovery can require different tools.

WATCH how this historic town is trying to rebuild after being nearly wiped out by the storm

Allison Jennings and her husband, Chris, run a nonprofit organization called Community Kitchen, which serves food year-round to people in need. Their building flooded in the storm, and after experiencing other major floods in the past, they say fear sets in each time it rains heavily.

"I've stood out there in the rain with a tape measure, measuring how close the river is to coming out the storm drain," said Chris. "So there was a physical toll, an emotional toll. Unless you've been through it, you can't understand."

USA TODAY, alongside the Asheville Citizen Times, has been spending time in several North Carolina communities to understand how people are coping mentally, physically and emotionally since the once-in-a-thousand-years storm on Sept. 27 ravaged homes, businesses, roadways and livelihoods.

"You think you're doing good, you're buying a house, you're doing all these things right, and something like this happens in a community that you don't expect flooding," said John Zara, standing next to heaps of rotten wood and destroyed items outside his house in Swannanoa.

"On top of losing your home and your belongings, you’ve also lost your ability to provide income. The bill collectors are still knocking. The mortgage company still wants their money. So it's one thing after the other. It’s a lot to think about and a lot to take on all at once."

Zara says he, along with his wife, Stephanie, and two children, aged 7 and 2, managed to escape their flooded house when water levels nearly reached the attic. Stephanie says she climbed a tree, yelled for help and was rescued with her kids by neighbors with kayaks.

"To be able to talk about it, I think it gives us an opportunity to heal together as a community in a way that just going back to shoveling some mud doesn't always provide for," said Chatham. "We tend to stuff things down and repress them."

WATCH how this family of four escaped rapid flooding in their home during the storm

Josh Copus, an artist and business owner in the historic town of Marshall, North Carolina, says he felt isolated and gutted when he began cleaning up in the aftermath of the massive flooding. But then, something unexpected happened. People he didn't even know offered to shovel mud for hours upon hours from his boutique hotel. He calls it "hope in humanity."

"That's what it's given me, is personal strength to get through this," said Copus, as he carried out debris from his building in a wheelbarrow while wearing a construction mask. "We're going to do it together."

From mules delivering life-saving medication and supplies in hard-to-reach areas to homegrown chefs delivering hot meals to the hungry, there's no need to look for the helpers. No matter which community we visited, the helpers were everywhere.

"We're kind of just, doing what chefs do, and utilizing the product that we have in front of us," said Ashleigh Shanti, owner of south Asheville's Good Hot Fish. The restaurant, like so many others, is temporarily closed because the city has no potable water. Shanti and other local chefs are working together to prepare large amounts of donated food for those who need a free, hot meal.

"I feel like my task is to feed people," says Shanti, a local celebrity after being a contestant in 2022 on the reality cooking series, Top Chef. "This is just what comes naturally."

WATCH the full documentary, Healing After Helene: North Carolina Rebuilds, at the top of the page.