In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Southern Dharma has been working in our communities to provide critical goods, services, and support. Our work continues to evolve day by day and has ranged from providing clean drinking water, mental health support groups, chainsawing fallen trees, distributing blankets and propane heaters, as well as supplying basic food and hygiene products to communities in need through our mutual aid hub. Our robust team of hurricane relief staff and volunteers work in diligent and compassionate service towards sammā-kammanta or Wise Action. Meanwhile, it has been our greater sangha supporting our work through material and fiscal donations that have allowed us to make this marked impact on the community.
As of November 16, we raised over $175,000 toward our collective Hurricane Helene response efforts. Thank you to all for showing up in whatever form you can in this time of western North Carolina's need. If you would like to contribute, you can donate here. Due to circumstances beyond our control, the Board of Southern Dharma made the decision to suspend operations at the Southern Dharma Oasis site beginning Saturday, November 16th.
On this page, you will find links to our email newsletters since the storm, information about our past and current activities, as well as new event updates as they arise. If you have questions or suggestions regarding our recovery work, please feel free to email [email protected] and we will get back to you as quickly as we can.
Southern Dharma Relief Work
In the days following the storm, Southern Dharma began offering direct food and water assistance to the community in collaboration with Urban Dharma, another local Buddhist organization. Beginning in early October, we relocated our continuing efforts to one wing of Oasis Church of Asheville. The new space, Southern Dharma Oasis, allowed us to significantly expand our Free Store and water distribution hub, as well as establish dedicated work space for recovery staff and volunteers.
Free Store & Water Hub
Four water totes line the southern wall of Southern Dharma Oasis, where people can come 24/7 to replenish their jugs and tanks with potable water to bring back to their houses. Before closing on November 16, the Oasis Free Store opened its doors every Tuesday - Saturday from 3 - 6 pm, allowing those in need to come get supplies like food, bedding, hygiene products, and more. The Free Store also acted as the focal point for Southern Dharma's distribution efforts; volunteers collected, packaged and drove items to families in need whenever the Free Store was open. The Free Store was stocked by volunteers who either purchased or collected what they could from larger distribution hubs in the region, while large orders of specialized products like propane heaters were purchased directly by Southern Dharma and brought in from outside the region by out of town volunteers.
Now that the doors of our temporary home at Oasis are closed, we will continue to offer dispersed support to the community and other mutual aid hubs, led by Atahuallpa Briceño in the coordinator role. Ata will maintain connections with other organizations to address ongoing and emergent necessities while continuing to supply food and other supplies to nearly 40 local families.
Programming
Where our volunteer efforts engaged material and physical needs within the community, events at Southern Dharma Oasis intended to help with the emotional, psychological, and spiritual processing of the impacts of Hurricane Helene. We were honored to offer a range of sessions and healing opportunities for our community members while the space was active. Deep thanks to everyone who took part, including facilitators Ekua Adisa, Selin Nurgun, Em Berkey, Matthew Parkinson, Kim Granelle, and Sarah Wells.
