Cynthia is an incredible person-- a devoted mother and daughter, a gardener, a marathon runner, scholar and colleague. Her house in Swannanoa, NC was devastated by Hurricane Helene, and for the 100+ days since she has continued to experience incredible challenges with housing instability, and getting legal and FEMA support for recovery, and her health. Pre-existing conditions have been exacerbated by contaminants in her house, and she recently learned she may have cancer. As her supervisor, I have seen Cynthia navigate these issues independently with grit, resilience and grace, but she needs our help now. Please donate to help Cynthia pay rent over the next three months, cover living expenses, and travel for assessment and treatment of her health conditions.

---In her words, the greatest challenges have been:

- Due to water damage from Helene and subsequent contaminants exacerbating health conditions, I am unable to live in my home.

- Insurance is refusing to cover the damage, and while I am working with the insurance company to come to a resolution, there is no timely solution before my FEMA benefits run out, and I will have to leave the hotel I have been staying in since Helene.

- My FEMA benefits run out on the 24th, after which point I will need to find another place to stay. However, my finances are making finding a suitable place to live difficult.

- I am also incurring medical and travel expenses in the course of getting possible breast and colon cancer diagnosed and treated.

- My savings were wiped out by these events, and I need financial help. I actually wrote to the Dean of Students who distributed the UNCA funds raised and there is no more available.

Our goal is to raise $8,00-- this would cover 3 months rent at $1,600 per month all utilities included, $2,700 to help with travel costs and living expenses, and $500 for some extra food and supplies.

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Here is her story for those that want to know her better:

I devoted the last 18 years of my life to working hard to earn degrees and the last seven to working for a university I love as well (UNC Asheville) as well as caring for my mother and maintaining my lovely little home that is now filled with contaminants, following Hurricane Helene on 09/27/24. I have an anaphylactic reaction after moments. The last time I entered my lovely little home in Swannanoa, NC that I bought as a single mother; on my own, I had the most severe asthma attack of my life. It came very close to sending me to the hospital. I have been told that this is because the insurance company refused to approve water mitigation until December 2.

Dec 2nd is also the day I saw my critical care pulmonologist. My pulmonologist has forbidden me from entering my home or removing anything from it. I submitted guidelines that were kindly offered by the head of the EPA for the Southeastern US. My adjustor ignored them and my multiple requests for approval. The insurance company undervalued the cost to replace my home. I was offered $2600 (my deductible) on estimates totaling 230 thousand dollars, in early November. I have now been told by 3 contractors with a combined experience level of 75+ years, it is now too late to repair my home. The damage is now too much. The costs to replace my home have been estimated at 300 thousand or more.

Additionally, my pulmonologist ordered a CT of my lungs on Friday of last week. During this CT a mass was discovered in my breast and a multitude of polyps in my colon. I had multiple mammograms and a sonogram. My radiologist doesn't like how it looks, and is sending me this week to an oncologist at UNC Breast Center for a consultation and biopsy on Wednesday of this week. I will then have a colonoscopy on Thursday of this week. There is a good possibility that I may now have cancer as well.

I live alone and I am normally a fiercely independent person. However, at this moment, I need help. I would be most grateful for whatever you could do. The attorney I had to hire said this would take some time to resolve. I want nothing more than to return to my home and sanctuary of 18 years. To my neighbors who are like family; my beautiful pollinator garden. I thank you for taking the time to read this.