Transcript:
Last fall, when Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, Vera Lester felt she understood some of what the people there were living through.
She’s from New Orleans and had experienced the destruction and trauma caused by Hurricane Katrina 19 years earlier, so she felt moved to reach out.
Lester: “Just so that people would know they weren’t alone, that there were other people who had been through this and we really understood how hard it is.”
Lester created a long-distance buddy program and paired dozens of people recovering from Helene with Katrina survivors.
The Katrina buddies are there to listen, share their own stories when asked – and validate the difficult emotions that Helene survivors are feeling.
Lester: “In the initial stages, the thing that I think is most important to hear is … it’s really that scary. It’s really that devastating. And we’ve been there too, and there’s nothing we can say that will make it better other than we’re still here.”
So while there are no quick fixes for the pain survivors are suffering, she says it’s critical that they have people to turn to for emotional support.
Lester: “Knowing in those moments that there will be people to rely on … it’s essential for survival.”
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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