Support Karalyn and Josh After Hurricane Helene

Hi everyone. I’m reaching out on behalf of a sweet friend of mine and her little family. Karalyn, Josh, and their young son Jesse live in Canton, North Carolina in an area deeply impacted by hurricane Helene. Pictured above is their neighborhood. The reason I’m writing this instead of one of them is because Josh and Karalyn are hesitant to ask for support when so many are suffering unimaginable loss. However, they need help in a serious way.

While their home remains intact, for which they are so grateful, their stability and livelihood moving forward are shrouded in uncertainty. Having had to start from scratch after being hit by devastating flooding in 2021, this is a huge blow. They are both self-employed and were already living very month to month. A meaningful percentage of their yearly income is dependent on holiday markets and Asheville’s tourist economy, both of which are not going to be able to support their family this year as they, and many self-employed artists, had anticipated. On top of regular monthly bills, one immediate need they have is heating. It’s starting to get cold and they are unable afford oil or wood.

Karalyn is an artist and teacher. You may know her work through Needlebone; beautiful, ethical, slow fashion inspired heavily by the natural world. Recently, she has been part of both donating items to and organizing to raise money for mutual aid in Gaza. She has pivoted to focusing a lot of her energy on teaching patternmaking and sewing classes. One of the places she teaches is in the river arts district, an area that experienced intense destruction, and is closed indefinitely. She has had to cancel her private, in home classes. Her online shop currently only has prints for sale and she does not know when the ink to print them will arrive, nor does she currently have the materials available to make clothes.

Josh curates vintage and antique items online and in person, which had been carrying them through as Karalyn waits for end of semester teaching payments. Both of the physical locations he sells at have been heavily affected due to the storm, and clearly no one is going antique shopping right now regardless.

I’ve been fortunate enough to know Karalyn for 15 years, but if you’ve interacted with her even briefly, you know what an extraordinarily thoughtful, kind, and generous person she is. Josh was born and raised in the Western North Carolina and is very deeply committed to his family, community and the mountains where they live. He has been working nonstop since the hurricane, doing the heart and back breaking labor of helping people dig out their homes and clean up while Karalyn takes care of their little one and tends to close-by neighbors. Josh has been figuring out who needs help in part through a friend organizing at the Pigeon Community Center. He has been working in Clyde, Canton, Waynesville, and Caruso, areas that are hard hit and not receiving as much support as Asheville.

It is guaranteed that any amount donated to them will enable them to maintain a shred of stability while they continue to physically support their communities without having the added stress and insult of piling bills and no way to pay them. Despite not having enough money to pay bills they've been buying gas to drive and help people and items for neighbors (like a fire extinguisher for someone heating there home with less than ideal means due to the storm) that are not readily available for free. If we reach our goal, this will cover around 3 months of expenses and will enable Josh to keep doing the important work of tirelessly helping flooded neighbors without having to come home at the end of an exhausting day to be faced with the reality of their financial situation. If they receive material support beyond what they need to keep their housing secure (and heated through the winter) it will also go back into mutual aid for the community.

Please help these folks, who are pouring everything they have into helping their neighbors while raising a young kid, keep their home and lives somewhat intact. Any amount of financial support, or sharing this if that’s not available to you, is appreciated more than you know.