DISASTER RESPONSE

Brethren Disaster Ministries (BDM) has opened a new rebuilding project site in Yancey County, N.C., expanding its long-term response to communities affected by Hurricane Helene in 2024. The site opened June 7, after volunteers served earlier this year in Ashe, Henderson, and Transylvania Counties. Yancey County was among the communities hardest hit by the storm. Historic flooding and mudslides destroyed homes, claimed lives, and left neighborhoods isolated as roads washed out and fallen trees blocked access. Power outages lasted for weeks in some areas, and emergency responders at times were forced to suspend operations because conditions had become too dangerous.

BDM volunteers are completing home repairs, constructing new homes, and helping finish two apartment units for Feed-A-Child, a local nonprofit. The apartments will provide temporary housing for families while their homes are repaired or rebuilt. Although Yancey County residents have worked tirelessly to rebuild and support one another, significant needs remain. The Yancey County project site will remain open through Aug. 15. BDM hopes to complete as much work as possible before the project concludes. Volunteer openings may still be available during the final week of the project.

As work in Yancey County winds down, additional rebuilding projects are planned across western North Carolina. A new BDM rebuilding site is scheduled to open Aug. 30 in Buncombe County, N.C., and remain in operation through May 15, 2027. Working in partnership with Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders, Brethren Disaster Ministries will serve qualified families identified through the organization by making home repairs and constructing new homes in the ROOTS Community Land Trust, a 50-home affordable housing initiative in Black Mountain, N.C., for families displaced by Hurricane Helene. Many lost not only their homes but also the land beneath them or rental housing they can no longer return to.

BDM also will return to Ashe County, N.C., for a short-term rebuilding project from Sept. 6 through Oct. 31. Working in partnership with the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, volunteers will make home repairs and build new homes. BDM previously served at this location during a two-week project in April 2026. Volunteer housing will be provided at the Ashe Baptist Campground.

Learn more about volunteering at www.brethren.org/bdm/rebuild/volunteer. Our district’s volunteer week this year is in late August/early September. Please be in prayer for those who are serving. Rick Koch, our district disaster coordinator, has said he plans to step down from that role at the end of this year. If you would have interest in serving, or know someone who might, please contact the district office.

Children’s Disaster Services, a program of Brethren Disaster Ministries, recently deployed a team of four volunteers to support families affected by the ongoing wildfires in Washington State. Brethren Disaster Ministries personnel continue to monitor the situation and remain in contact with local Church of the Brethren congregations and Pacific Northwest District leaders.  According to Daniel Klayton, administrative assistant for Pacific Northwest District, firefighting crews have successfully protected structures—including homes and churches—in and around Tonasket, where the Whitestone Community Church of the Brethren and Ellisforde Church of the Brethren are located.

Earlier this summer, CDS volunteers aided the Kerrville, Texas, as the community commemorated the one-year anniversary of the catastrophic flood that devastated their town and the surrounding area. Kathleen (Kat) Fahrner and Katherine (Katie) Marshall joined with volunteers from CDS partner Child Life Disaster Relief (CLDR) and other organizations to help.