During Hurricane Helene, Lillian Govus was thrown into a role that she never thought she’d have. A year later, she talks about the trauma she saw, and the trauma she endured.
I am so grateful that you created the Open Thread in the days after the storm. I was worried about my father and some of your links helped me get more information. We were eventually able to drive up from Georgia to get him out and brought truckloads of donations when we came. Dad has since passed (from issues unrelated to Helene), and I'm so grateful that he lived long enough to see the regrowth happening in Western NC.
Jessica, we worked at Mountain Xpress together for a couple years, although our paths never crossed. I was freelancing for What's New In Food alongside Thomas and Kay, later Mindi and Andy. I was working with Gina on one last piece (covering agritourism as part of a more longform food feature) right before Helene hit. Sadly, that piece never saw the light of day, and my family and I were washed away; ultimately, we landed in Seattle after a few months on the road following our displacement. Anyway, I just posted a piece detailing my experience on 9/27/2024, and I'd like to share it with you. I hope you are well.
Let's contrast Ms Govus's heroic actions with the attitude of our acting FEMA director, Dave "I'm on break" Richardson who couldn't be bothered to interrupt his holiday to send aid to drowning victims in the Texas Hill Country.
I am so grateful that you created the Open Thread in the days after the storm. I was worried about my father and some of your links helped me get more information. We were eventually able to drive up from Georgia to get him out and brought truckloads of donations when we came. Dad has since passed (from issues unrelated to Helene), and I'm so grateful that he lived long enough to see the regrowth happening in Western NC.
Thank you for your relentless efforts and work - it made a world of difference in those first days and beyond post-Helene. <3
Excellent story! Good work!
Jessica, we worked at Mountain Xpress together for a couple years, although our paths never crossed. I was freelancing for What's New In Food alongside Thomas and Kay, later Mindi and Andy. I was working with Gina on one last piece (covering agritourism as part of a more longform food feature) right before Helene hit. Sadly, that piece never saw the light of day, and my family and I were washed away; ultimately, we landed in Seattle after a few months on the road following our displacement. Anyway, I just posted a piece detailing my experience on 9/27/2024, and I'd like to share it with you. I hope you are well.
https://open.substack.com/pub/blakematsonbecker/p/ripples-from-the-river?r=7egb7&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
I've know Jillian for a long time and I'm not surprised to read about this great work. Salute!
Let's contrast Ms Govus's heroic actions with the attitude of our acting FEMA director, Dave "I'm on break" Richardson who couldn't be bothered to interrupt his holiday to send aid to drowning victims in the Texas Hill Country.