Help Me Help the Asheville Community with Compassion

My name is Kerry Mertlick (some of you know me as Joy) & I live in Asheville, NC. Hurricane Helene has impacted my community in every way.

I keep asking myself…how can I help, how can I heal & how can I serve? At this time, I feel my strength lies in emotional support. I can offer a safe, compassionate, loving presence for anyone experiencing hardship and the challenges of daily life as they are now…the devastation & destruction is real & we all need help at this time.

Also, all the schools are closed & many parents are struggling to keep it all together. I have been blessed with a light that the kids seem to be attracted to. I have been supporting a neighborhood family with 2 kids & look forward to extending this love to more families in need free of charge.

I support my simple life by serving tea in a Taoist tradition sacred ceremony. It is an opportunity to experience the present moment, rest in the heart's awareness & be witnessed with love. It is an honor & a gift to share this experience & to have been able to financially support myself in this way.

At this time, many people’s financial resources are limited & as many of us are in survival mode, anything beyond electricity, drinkable water & food is a luxury at this point.

I also open my home to Airbnb guests & am grateful every time someone shares how well they rested & how peaceful my home is. When I clean the space to prepare for the guests' arrival, I sing songs of peace & harmony to create a loving atmosphere. Since there may not be water for months & tourism in Asheville may not be thriving for quite a while, this challenges my ability to stay in my home & serve the community.

I would like to continue to serve tea & considering the hardships of the people, I would like to offer this service free of charge.

And open my home as a safe place for people to rest (once the water returns…the estimates keep changing, but it may be months) also for free or for an exchange that feels compassionate.

Often while gratitude is being exchanged after a tea ceremony, I have found myself saying, “I am here if you need anything, please feel free to reach out, we are all in this together.”

And here I am, humbly listening to my heart & asking for help, trusting that people sincerely want to help & truly awakening to the reality that we are all in this together. Please consider helping me so I can feel supported to help others with the gifts I have to offer.

The money will be used to help pay my monthly mortgage, utility bills, food, clean water, ceremonial tea & any supplies people in my community need.

We all know the importance of the presence of another human being in our life…to be seen, heard, witnessed & to help us not feel alone. This presence is priceless & sadly many things are not.

If financial support does not feel in alignment with your heart, please say a prayer, light a candle, sing a song, plant a seed, anything that ignites your heart-light & see us all living in peace.

As you can imagine, this was a challenging decision to be vulnerable. I am moving through this with grace & know I can help others do the same.

With deep love & gratitude,

Kerry