Assistance and relocation of votes, FEMA housing needs and more

(This article has been updated because an earlier version contained an inaccurate headline.)

Helene’s recovery briefing in Buncombe County on Thursday touched on several upcoming changes: the relocation of voting sites and care centers, the upcoming D-SNAP deadline and more.

Briefings are streamed daily on the Buncombe County Facebook page at 11 a.m. You can also find recordings of previous briefings on the website. Here’s what was discussed at Thursday’s briefing.

On October 21, in a briefing at Buncombe: Donation freezes, water updates, trash facility updates and more

D-SNAP deadline

Today, October 24, is the last day to apply for the Supplemental Disaster Nutrition Assistance Program.

Reports must be submitted in person to Buncombe County Health and Human Services at 40 Coxe Avenue in Asheville between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

If you cannot go in person, you can complete the authorization form and send an authorized person to your place. The form can be found at buncombecounty.org. You can also start the application process online by pre-registering at epass.nc.gov and then calling the D-SNAP call center at 1-844-453-1117.

County Manager Avril Pinder warned that lines would be long at BCHHS, but assured the community that applications from anyone in line before 4 p.m.

Find food, water and more: Where to find relief in Buncombe County a month after Helene

Relocation of the Buncombe County Disaster Recovery Center

The Disaster Recovery Center, which Pinder describes as a “one-stop shop” for FEMA and Small Business Administration assistance, is moving from its location at A.C. Reynolds High School at the end of the day on Oct. 24 to prepare for when schools reopen. Visit the location at 9 Reynolds Dr. before it closes – the County will announce the new location as soon as possible.

The Mobile Disaster Recovery Center is open October 24-27 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Bee Tree Fire Station in Swannanoa and October 28-31 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Buncombe County Sports parking lot Park.

Social Welfare Centers, food and water distribution in WNC

Community care center locations that offer free showers, laundry, meals and more include:

• AC Reynolds High School

• In the home shop (parking lot)

• Big Lots Shopping Center/Innsbrook

• Buncombe County Sports Park

• Bethel United Methodist

• English Swannanoa

• Morgan Hill Baptist Church

• Owen’s pool

The food and water distribution site at AC Reynolds High School has been closed. As of October 24, remaining distribution locations include:

A reminder for families returning to school

Pinder recalled that after schools reopened, many traffic lights were still not working. Help keep your community safe by slowing down when you see a non-illuminated traffic light and treating it as a round-trip stop.

Garbage collection sites

The October 24 household bag collection site is at Ingles, Fairview.

The pesticide collection event, open to all counties, will take place at 74 Research Dr. today until 4 p.m. in Mills River. Only labeled and known chemicals; no mixed chemicals or liquids in bulk containers will be accepted. There is no fee for disposal.

Buncombe County Early Voting; extended working hours on weekends

The Buncombe County Elections Office is offering extended early voting hours this weekend and encourages all residents to take advantage of them. All 10 early voting locations are open every weekend from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until the last Saturday before Election Day on November 2 at 3 p.m.

Use the wait map at buncombecounty.org/vote to see how many people are in line and to help you decide where to go – weekends usually don’t have much time to vote early. You can vote at any of the following places:

• West Asheville Library

• Library in Czarna Góra

• East Asheville Library

• Enki-Candler’s Library

• Fairview Library

• Leicester Community Center

• South Buncombe Library

• UNCA Health and Counseling Center

• Weaverville Community Center

• Southside Dr. Wesley Grant Center

If you have any questions, please contact the Elections Department at 828-250-4200 or by email at [email protected]. You can also visit the office at 59 Woodfin Pl. in Asheville. For more information, visit buncombecounty.org/vote.

All 80 precincts that will vote on Election Day have already been assessed – 17 need to be relocated or relocated to new locations, all of which have already been created. Changes to voting locations are posted on the website and ballots have been mailed to interested voters.

Mountain Mobility Early Voting

Mountain Mobility provides direct access to three early voting sites via the Trailblazer Trail. Customers using any of the three Trailblazer routes will be able to use one of three locations depending on their area:

Customers can be picked up anywhere along the Trailblazer route. As always, Mountain Mobility is free and open to everyone.

More: WNC boards of elections are using the magic of voting to overcome voting hurdles after Helene

FEMA Temporary Housing Needs

FEMA is seeking property owners or management companies to help meet the temporary housing needs of Hurricane Helene survivors by leasing properties directly to FEMA.

The agency will host a webinar this afternoon, October 24, from 2-4 p.m., for property managers and residential property owners who want to learn more about renting directly to FEMA. Register at fema.zoomgov.com/webinar.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at WNC

Dan Connolly of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers appeared to explain some of USACE’s key missions after Helene.

First, USACE is assisting with debris removal throughout the region. Today, October 24, they are collecting debris at the NC Arboretum.

USACE also worked on interim water solutions. They recently helped create a clean water source on the UNCA campus. Connolly said they hope to have clean water available on campus by Friday or Saturday.

USACE operates in many WNC counties, depending on where they are needed.

Where to volunteer in Buncombe County

Dan Leroy of United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County provided information on a collaborative effort to organize community-wide volunteer support for local rescue efforts.

“One of United Way’s long-standing roles in our community is to mobilize volunteers to address a variety of critical community issues,” Leroy said.

Handsonasheville.org, the organization’s volunteer coordination website, is now online.

In addition to the Hands On initiative, United Way partnered with Lutheran Disaster Response and Relief and Buncombe County government to launch an in-person Volunteer Reception Center to “complement the website.” Volunteers can stop by at 50 South French Broad Ave. from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. seven days a week and be assigned on-site. Email [email protected] or call 813-485-1354 for more information.

“United Way is committed to ensuring that anyone wishing to volunteer in local recovery efforts can do so in an easy, effective and personally rewarding way, and is ensuring that every organization involved in recovery efforts throughout Buncombe County has access to volunteers who need to complete their missions,” Leroy said.

As of October 24, there are 38 volunteer offers available on the website, which corresponds to 7,326 individual volunteer positions. Leroy encouraged nonprofits, community groups and disaster relief organizations to register for volunteer opportunities on Hands On, which will automatically register organizations with the Volunteer Reception Center. Contact us at [email protected] or call 828-393-5628.

Pisgah Legal Department offers assistance following Helen’s death

Jackie Kiger, CEO of Pisgah Legal Services, reminded the public of the services available through the organization following Helen’s death and encouraged anyone needing legal assistance to contact her.

“Pisgah Legal Services provides a wide range of free civil legal assistance, anti-poverty and health care access services to help people meet their most basic needs for safety, shelter, health care, food and other critical needs,” Kiger said.

Pisgah Legal can also help with:

Kiger also encouraged people who have experienced damage to their homes from Helene and need help processing the paperwork to receive federal assistance to visit Pisgah Legal. For assistance, call 800-489-6144 or apply online at pisgahlegal.org/free-legal-assistance.

Iris Seaton is a popular reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Contact her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared in the Hendersonville Times-News: WNC Helene’s recovery: Aid, vote relocation, FEMA needs, more