A few weeks ago, while I was visiting family for Christmas, I had the opportunity to partner with a local church to distribute Christmas gifts and supplies to families in my hometown of less than 20,000 people (located on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee). .

This experience gave me the opportunity to hear the stories of my neighbors, many of whom I have known my entire life.

There is a story that impressed me deeply. A multi-generational family of six living in a fifth-wheel trailer. they have lost their home and everything they hold dear—except their faith.

Hurricane Helene: ‘America’s backbone’ helps Southeast farmers with billions in crop and land losses

Unfortunately, their story is all too familiar among small mountain communities in southern Appalachia.

It’s been almost five months now Hurricane Helen The Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina were forever reshaped.

In the months since, we’ve seen the true nature of human nature.

Our community comes together. Businesses are helping each other clean up and rebuild. The church is still providing warm clothing and hot meals on foot and on horseback. Nonprofits from across the Southeast are providing essential items like diapers, blankets and baby formula.

Elon Musk delivered with help from privateers like former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and Cajun Navy Starlink router To every crevice in Western North Carolina, connecting us to the outside world.

Western North Carolina and southern Appalachia are rebuilding themselves.

Despite the incredible efforts of leaders like Congressman Chuck Edwards, Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, federal response and help have been slow.

Partisan politics has slowed down rescue workMany in Raleigh and Washington put party before people.

As temperatures plummet and inches of snow fall each week, many North Carolinians remain homeless and relying on tents for shelter.

FEMA has delivered trailers to the region but has been unable to effectively approve people who applied to receive them nearly five months ago.

The shining light in this storm is Appalachia’s resilience. While demagogues on both sides sought to exploit this disaster for their own political gain, our communities came together to help each other.

Towns like Marshall, North Carolina, plan to reopen in the coming months despite more than half of the town being destroyed by flooding.

In the more than 25 years I have lived in Western North Carolina, we are stronger than I have ever seen it before.

However, the strength and resilience of our communities can only sustain our sense of normalcy for so long.

Western North Carolina is in despair.

Leaders from both parties need to hold government bureaucracies accountable that ignore the needs of our communities.

Winter has just begun. As temperatures drop into the single digits and winds bite, churches and nonprofits are springing into action to fill the void left by inefficient government bureaucracy.

The time to act was five months ago, but better late than never.

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our community Urgent need for investment Affordable housing and infrastructure to boost local economies and provide families with the resources they need to get back on their feet.

Insurers are redefining flood zones; many families are being forced to abandon their homes and properties due to exorbitant housing prices. The Small Business Administration is running out of money, slowing recovery in areas desperate for economic opportunity. County and city governments are relying on the slow distribution of disaster relief funds to get critical agencies back up and running.

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This is not a political issue and should not be controversial. For over a hundred years, Appalachia has been left behind by our federal government. Now, when we need them most, they are too lazy to act urgently.

Appalachia will not be defined by Helen; it will be defined by the strong response of the people who call these mountains home.