73 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com the upstate years ago, seeking a vibrant, inclusive community. The children flourished while Harvey and Petit fixed up their century-old farmhouse, planting gardens and thriving. They volunteered for BeLoved Asheville, which serves the unhoused community, and frequented local music stores, concert venues and coffee shops. When Helene hit, the Harvey-Petit family hunkered down, waiting for the worst to pass. Their daughter, then in her first semester at UNC Asheville, was home with them, and their son’s high school closed in advance of the storm. Things quickly turned upside down. “After Helene, we didn’t have power for two weeks,” said Harvey. “We didn’t have running water for about the same amount of time.” They hauled water in buckets from backyard rain barrels and water stations set up in the parking lot of a nearby grocery store. When the water came back two weeks later, it was bypassing treatment plants and came out sludgy and brown, only usable for toilet flushing. It was a hot, sticky time as the family grew used to bathing with wet wipes until FEMA set up shower stations nearby. Still, they knew how lucky they were. Their house sustained minimal damage, while many residences and businesses were far worse off. “And then something really cool happened,” said Harvey. “Before the storm, we barely talked to any of our neighbors. It was a very quiet neighborhood. But after the storm, as soon as we all realized this was a really bad situation, that changed dramatically. Every day, everyone was checking in on each other. We have some elderly people in our circle, and our neighbors came together to make sure they were okay. I was up on a neighbor’s roof with a chainsaw to get a tree out of their house. It was amazing to see how people came together.” The sense of community was pervasive. Throughout the city, people opened their doors to share what they had. Beyond Asheville opened their warehouse doors to offer supplies to everyone who needed them. Once local businesses began opening their doors, customers returned, eager to help them stay afloat. It’s coming back. Asheville will return. “I’m worried, though,” added Harvey. “I’m concerned the landscape of Asheville will change. Locals who lost everything and don’t have the money to reopen. They’re moving to other parts of the state or further out of town to open in a less expensive area. It puts things into perspective over how fortunate a lot of us were.” Ever an optimist though, he added, “No matter what, though, throughout the year it was really heartening to see the support of our neighbors. Everyone was willing to help each other and make sure everyone had their basic needs met. That was incredible.” A washed out bridge in an Asheville neighborhood. Photo courtesy of Layne Harvey.
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