Asheville Resident Collaborates with Spartanburg Libraries to Provide Storm Relief Aid

A Local’s Endeavour: Asheville Resident Rallies Spartanburg to Aid her City

Amidst the aftermath of a disastrous storm, Asheville resident Adeline Wolfe is taking an active role in helping her city bounce back by leveraging her connections both in Asheville and her hometown of Spartanburg. Wolfe, a Community Rental Investments staff member at Mountain Housing Opportunities (MHO), a non-profit that builds and improves housing for low-income individuals in Buncombe County, is working with Spartanburg County Public Libraries to provide much-needed aid to her home of the last four years.

“We all need each other, and we can all take care of each other as we come together in times like this.” Wolfe voiced. She emphasized how critical it is in times of crisis for disparate parts of your life to converge and work towards a shared goal of mutual aid.

Initiating the Aid Program

Wolfe’s childhood friend and mentor, County Librarian Todd Stephens, was quick to jump in and assist with the initiative. Via the library’s network spread throughout Spartanburg County, they have initiated a collection drive for essential supplies. These collected supplies will then be distributed by Wolfe and the MHO to affected families and individuals around Asheville.

According to Wolfe, the most essential items right now include gallon-size drinking water, food that requires little water to prepare, cleaning and hygiene supplies, and diapers of all sizes. She explained the aid is to be distributed not just to MHO tenants, but also to other aid distributors like Beloved Asheville and the United Way.

All Spartanburg County library branches, excluding the currently closed Cyrill-Westside branch, are accepting donations. Stephens informed that there are a few changes in the libraries’ operational hours for the week. All library locations are open Monday to Saturday with Sunday availability only at the Headquarters, Boiling Springs, and Middle Tyger locations.

Transforming the Library Roles

Immediately after the storm, the necessity for community connections and relief aid became starkly clear. Recognizing this, Stephens took swift action, overseeing the restorative process at each library location. The Headquarters Library in downtown Spartanburg, specifically, functioned as a refuge of sorts. It leveraged its substation connection to regain power quickly and opened its doors to the community on September 30, much earlier than most establishments.

“Human connection is critical to a community needing resilience,” Stephens expressed. He opened the library with limited hours for locals to have a safe space to gather, recharge devices, read books, and maintain a semblance of normalcy amidst the chaos.

The library was met with overwhelming response, recording nearly five times its typical Monday footfall, with about 1,500-1,600 visitors and 775 unique Wi-Fi users.

With extended gratitude for the library staff whose dedication kept the operations running smoothly, Stephens acknowledged that many staff members joined in the effort, despite some uncertainty about their own situations at home.

The Current Situation

Pleasantly, the libraries came out of the storm unscathed, barring the Cyrill-Westside library which remains closed due to a downed tree on a power line near its entrance. Meanwhile, Duke Energy has set up a temporary setup at the Headquarters library lobby, offering resources and assistance to Spartanburg customers with electrical issues.

Senior Stakeholder Engagement Manager with Duke Energy, Raven Thompson, expressed their aim to support the disrupted community in any way possible. They have been actively engaging with over 100 people daily since Monday.

As the communities come together, drawing on shared resources and common human connections, it is evident that the spirit of unity and resilience is most potent in the wake of disaster. The phrase ‘we are in this together‘ is not just an adage, but a reality being lived in these challenging times.