12/16/2024

Distrust for FEMA Leaves Some North Carolinians in the Lurch

Some residents' fears leave them hesitant to apply for hurricane aid

Why, Shawna Gilmore thought, would she want to ask them for help? FEMA wasn’t there right after Hurricane Helene all but destroyed her town. And a week or so later, when responders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did show up, she became suspicious. An aerial video posted in one of her main Facebook groups showed trucks setting up what looked like some sort of camp. She said she kept hearing misinformation related to how FEMA "took things," like people's land.

"What are they actually doing here?" Gilmore said she thought to herself. "Why are they really here?"

This was not an agency to whom she said she wanted to give her personal information, not even for a $750 emergency check or other assistance. Beyond her "trust issue," she said, relying on the government for help isn't how she is built. The 54-year-old grew up in a rural southeast Missouri town right on the Mississippi River that frequently flooded, but they always picked themselves back up. Then she moved to this part of the Appalachian foothills about 30 years ago, becoming a property manager and even more self-sufficient.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.