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WINDSOR – A Bertie County couple continues to help Hurricane Helene victims in western North Carolina long after the storm caused billons of dollars in damage and claim multiple lives

David Barnes and his wife Donnette made their first trip on Oct. 11 with relief supplies. Eight more have followed. To date, they have traveled almost 7,000 miles delivering needed supplies to churches and supply depots in small towns or the countryside.

What they have witnessed firsthand hurts their hearts, but what they’ve learned about the resilience of the people there gives them some measure of hope, even though the quantity of the supplies has dramatically decreased over the past month.

“We started off collecting supplies from people here locally and taking those supplies to the mountains,” said David Barnes. “What people don’t realize is that the majority of the storm relief items sent to the mountains wind up in Asheville. That’s a big city. There are so many other small towns, communities that are being overlooked. They’re the ones still in dire need of help. Distribution of supplies is terrible in those small towns outside of Asheville and Boone. It’s still messed up some 90 days later. There are people still living in tents.”

Prior to the hurricane’s arrival, Barnes and his wife frequented the North Carolina mountains for their annual vacation.

“We love the Spruce Pine area,” Barnes said of the Mitchell County town located just south of the sprawling Roan Mountain State Park. “We purchased a horse from there. We’ve gotten to know a lot of people from there. We were on vacation in the mountains the week before the hurricane hit.”

Higher Pastures, a Christian retreat located near Burnsville in Yancey County, was among the areas hit hard by Helene that Barnes and his wife have visited.

“They built their roads back themselves,” Barnes noted. “We took supplies there and they told us of other areas that needed help.”

Barnes mentioned other small towns where he and his wife have delivered supplies: Swannanoa, Burnsville, Newland, and Pensacola to name a few.

“Lucky for us, we’ve always found a place to stay overnight, either free or at a reduced rate. But then you feel bad when you’re inside a warm cabin while knowing there are many, many others sleeping in tents,” Barnes stated.

“We haven’t seen much of a FEMA presence in the small towns we’ve been in,” Barnes noted. “That’s why we went where we went as we felt we could make an impact. We meet people face to face and hear their stories.”

One man they spoke with said he lost 11 members of his family in the flooding aftermath of the hurricane.

“It broke our hearts listening to his story,” Barnes shared. “But yet here he was, standing alongside us and helping to hand out supplies to others.”

Barnes said that even in despair, he saw many individuals opt out of taking what was being offered.

“They are proud people,” he observed. “We were handing out supplies at God’s Way Baptist Church, near Burnsville, where we were asked if we would do a wellness check on an 82-year-old woman. We go to her house, which was severely damaged by the storm, and find that she’s okay. We took her some supplies.”

While she still had a home that was somewhat livable, Barnes said he and his wife saw devastation everywhere, cement foundations where homes once stood.

“So many people lost everything they had except what clothes they had on their backs when the floods came,” he said. “You could stand and look up a mountain and see where the mudslides began. There are places where huge hunks of a mountain are gone, trees and all. You ride along and see cars, trucks still in the rivers. Piles and piles of debris remain along the roads.”

Barnes said he got in touch with Buddy Scott of a non-profit organization who had a supply depot.

“He told us we could load up supplies from that depot and deliver them to those in need,” Barnes stated. “That worked out really well, but what we found out in the process was from talking to those in the areas where we were carrying supplies what their exact needs were. They gave us a list and we’d go back to the depot, load up on those items, and deliver them.”

Back at home, Barnes said local businesses have helped the cause. He mentioned FCX-Windsor, Tractor Supply in Ahoskie, Farmers Feed and Supply of Rich Square, Hampton Farms of Severn, the Rich Square Fire Department, and Bertie Ambulance Service of Windsor as their main contributors.

Barnes also worked with David Burke and the Seaboard Lions Club who had undertaken a massive supply drive, to include food, in November.

Allen White loaned his closed trailer to Barnes in which the supplies are transported.

“This isn’t about us. This is about what these people in western North Carolina need,” Barnes stressed. “They were at the center of attention a couple of months ago. But their need is great and they still need our help. The few clothes they have are wearing out because they wear them everyday. They don’t have a house with a washing machine.”

Barnes said because the national news teams have left western NC to report on other stories, an information void has been created.

“We need to keep these people, the victims of that vicious hurricane, at the top of our minds,” he said. “They’re still hurting, many have lost their jobs because the places they worked were either severely damaged or just washed away.”

And now that the cold of winter has set in, Barnes said that only increases the level of despair.

“People are coming to these supply depots and stealing items, even in broad daylight,” Barnes noted. “It could be desperation. They’re taking generators, tents, winter coats, and the like. Maybe they’re taking those items to sell in order to have the money they need to survive. When it comes to feeding your family, a person will do most anything to make that happen.”

Barnes said at the outset of the supply drives from thousands of sources in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, canned food items were overly abundant.

“People are not donating food now like they were at first,” he said. “Canned meats are in high demand, so are small tanks of propane to use with the devices used to heat a tent.”

Barnes said he is most bothered by the federal response to the hurricane victims.

“We have the resources to do what needs to be done there,” he said. “In the Army, there are engineers that can build a bridge in one day. Why can’t we send them there to build houses? Some individuals and private businesses have tried to help out by going to the mountains to build tiny houses. But the government shut ‘em down, citing building codes.

“And we can send billions to foreign countries to fight wars, but we can’t help our own? That’s not right,” Barnes added.

“We’re hearing stories from victims who saved all their lives to have a little something in retirement, and now they have to use that money to build back their lives,” he added. “That’s a devastating blow at their age.”

Barnes and his wife stressed they will not turn their backs on these storm victims.

“As long as I can put fuel in my truck and I have supplies to haul, we will go back to the mountains to help in any way we can and as often as it takes,” Barnes said.

Those wishing to help with donations of items or monetary gifts can contact David Barnes at 252-396-3560 or Donnette Barnes at 252-209-7632.