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I'm Tony Zeoli and I live in Asheville, NC.
I have set up this page as friends have asked for a place to support my family in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Hurricane Helene hit Asheville hard. We are grateful as we are alive, have running water to flush our toilets, and power. Yet, Asheville, where we spend most of our time, resembles a war zone with no running water. The storm was terrifying, the aftermath resembles armageddon, and the lack of food and water for our child was completely unnerving. Four days after the hurricane, as soon as a main road to Charlotte opened, we left for a donated airBnB - 6 hours from home.
We are at the point where we need to ask for support. To summarize, we seek funds for:
- Lost income (we are self-employed) so there is no PTO. We had already lost months of work this year when my father-in-law was in the hospital/ICU - dropping our income by 80% - and now have not been able to work consistently for several additional weeks.
- Expenses beyond whatever FEMA approves for travel, food, and keeping the kiddo busy once we exhaust free things to do.
- Ripping up our master bedroom and kitchen floors that were damaged in the hurricane, remediating any mold, sealing the concrete floors (cheaper than putting new floors down). Insurance will reject our claim; we will then apply with FEMA and see if they help in any way. If there is mold, we will need to leave the home a 2nd time to avoid it while it is remediated.
- Missy’s health - she requires treatments that require traveling 4 hours round trip to Charlotte because of the lack of water in Asheville. (Some practitioners she needs will not be in town or open.)
A portion of any funds received will support our community. We will volunteer in the afternoons with our son with two beautiful organizations: My Daddy Taught Me That and Caja Solidaria.
As an aside, Missy’s dad’s lady friend lost her home and its contents. She is left with only her clothes and her pet. We will visit her in S. Carolina with some resources to support her. She likely will have to leave her community of 30 years, which breaks our hearts.
To those of you who have already helped us, we cannot thank you enough for caring. Your phone calls, emails, texts, and gifts - they have helped us so much. Our kiddo is doing KID things this week because of your generosity. We are eating healthy food. We are modeling healthy tears and grief.
We continue to learn that community is everything. We thank you all with humility and love.
Organizer
