TRANSPORTATION NEEDS FOR SINGLE MOM AFTER HURRICANE HELENE

hello I'm Brandy. I'm a single mom. and I have no income since hurricane Helene. my car was lost to the storm, flooded and electrical damage and gone. I had another car that is a Lincoln Continental donated to us at Christmas time, but the transmission went out April 6th while I was volunteering in the mountains.

since then I have felt stranded. me and my son have walked so much that our shoes have fallen apart. we've been caught walking in rainstorms and thunderstorms. on his 6th birthday we walk to get a cake and on the way home it melted. on Mother's Day we walked and it started a downpour and had to walk for an hour in the rain. whenever FEMA wants us to do something with printing off signing filling out, sending in uploading anything like that that needs the resources of the library. we have to walk 11 miles. The grocery store is 3 and 1/2 hours walk. Its been relentlessly hard to cope with just daily needs! We have had to walk through neighborhoods that felt dangerous and unsafe for a single woman and child to walk through but we've had to do it before. when I get an Uber and I'm fortunate to be able to have the money sent to me for one, I still have to carry his car seat after we get out along with everything else that I acquire on our trip. one week I had to stay off my foot the entire week. I could not walk because I had torn something in the arch of my foot and it hurt so bad that I felt like I was going to collapse every time I stood up just to go to the bathroom. what seems like a small hill in a car is excruciatingly painful to get up when you've already been walking for an hour. downhill doesn't make it any easier when you're tired and hot. 5 minutes driving takes over an hour walking something that is 10 to 15 minutes away. could take 3 to 4 hours to get to. when we walk down the road most of the time there's not even a sidewalk. we are literally walking on the side of the road next to heavy traffic. dodging fire ants that seem to be thousands of them ready to attack the entire journey which is horrible if you're stuck in flip flops or sandals. having to run across five lanes of traffic with a child just to get to the other side of the road for the store because there's no walk. lane is stressful. especially when we're walking back with my arms full. but we have done it. I literally dread walking anywhere. like for real to say it is dreadful is an understatement. I have to stop and use my inhaler several times and the entire walk is completely depressing. I still cry over the fact that my son's cake was ruined when we got home because it melted and we ended up walking back on his birthday to another store just to get a different kind of cake that he had to settle for. and because of no money we didn't get to have a event to celebrate like we would have had. we had transportation to go somewhere and do something. but I did make the most of it as best I could. feeling stranded for the past 10 weeks has been the most depressing + burdensome time so far this year. The blisters and charlie horse cramps and having to be who carries my son after walking 1.2 miles cause his legs hurt, isnt easy to do with asthma. Sometimes it takes us waaay longer to walk somewhere justl because the heat and medical problems hold us back more than others. °MY SHOES FELL APART AND I NEED NEW SHOES SIZE 8 and Gray needs a pair of tennis shoes size 13c

before this year I had never used Uber. I was always scared. and I really couldn't afford it. but I have used Uber a few times since walking 5 hours just to get to a medical appointment.

because I'm not disabled or elderly, I don't qualify for some of the resources that give transportation here in this area that we're at now...

I've not been able to access the hubs or donations centers or areas that are helping people in Buncombe County because we were forced to relocate. whenever the storm came, the power went out all the way down I-40 interstate. we were forced to accept a FEMA hotel room all the way 4 hours away from home. since then we got FEMA to transfer our hotel back as close to I-40 as possible. and we were forced to relocate to Statesville North Carolina whenever we got a camper donated to us and the only open campsite was in Iredell County at that time.

the rent is $174 a week plus power. which I'm currently $500 behind on.

my phone and storage and other bills add up to $300 a month. which I'm currently $200 behind them.

I'm still paying car insurance on the car that has a broken transmission and they're saying it would be $1,500 to fix that which is what I'm asking for. Plus the cost to tow it to where the mechanic is. that's going to do it for the discounted price of $1,500, including the cost of the transmission itself in that.

so that I can go back to work. not being able to utilize child care + dependable consistent rides to work due to Independent transportation, has made my income become zero. it is impossible for me to pay my bills or provide for myself and my child without having an income.

we have no other family. our whole family is deceased and has been.

If it's better for us to get a down payment on a vehicle I don't mind making payments but if I'm going to be paying for a car I need a truck that's at least a half ton or can pull 4,000 lb of my camper. moving forward in life I would need to be able to transport myself and my camper if that's the case

but I would need help with the down payment. which $1,500 would also be an option for. if someone were to email me tell me that's what they were given me the money for, then that's the route I would take.

I'm very transparent and honest and I don't mind meeting someone in person. I don't mind sending receipts and proof of purchase to any email of any donor.

if a car is able to be donated to me I would ask for a truck or SUV that could pull my camper,

but I'll take anything available

because then the goal would be to save up my money to complete the goal of having something that can pull my camper anyway.

I appreciate everyone who took the time to read this + any help given to us is very appreciated and necessary. thank you so much. God bless

---And I need money to do bout $50 worth of all our laundry and laundry soap for it too.

°Our supply of hygiene products has run out, and cleaning supplies and dish soap. I am struggling to cope with the depression of just feeling like we are wasting away.

°We still need help as much as we can get. The prayer is that God makes a way for us to have independent transportation again! We have called all the places advised and have been told there isnt any assistance anywhere. When we ran out of food I called DSS crying for my kids sake and they told me if we found a way to them they would give us food but can't deliver and said sorry and hung up even though i was hysterical and emotional and literally traumatized just by getting too many deadends while asking for help Its been scary knowing what's possible and fearing worst case scenarios constantly. This past weekend I had an asthma attack and it really made me feel even weaker than ever. I was reminded the summer time is here and we have allergies and heat induced asthma! To be walking in anything over 74° is harsh on our breathing! To be stuck at home all day everyday feeling stranded unless we walk isnt fair to us but its been this way for ten weeks now.

I am grateful for all the help since Helene, immensely! We have been so appreciative of the support when we needed it most and now we need the help again!

°And for what it's worth to the reader: My son and I are saved. we got baptized a week before the storm. we turn to God last year and Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior and we are grateful to everything that he has provided so far and all of the people that he has sent to help us. thank you Father for giving us the platform to reach your people through a post to ask for help.

°I am working to rebuild my life from the ground up — for myself and for my 6-year-old son, who deserves stability, safety, and peace. I need $ to cover the basic necessities we need to start over cause we are still in the beginning: I need to be able to keep our safe place to live and the rent is past due with no help from any agencies. I need independent Reliable transportation

and clothing and essentials for me and my son to face summer. Once our basic needs are met, I hope to use any funds available either saved up or donated to enroll my son in a community sport or class he wants to take. He has a scholarship for travel competitive soccer and because we didnt have transportation we had to moss out of the opportunity.

°please know that every donation — no matter the size — makes a meaningful impact. Your support will help us get back on our feet, move forward, and continue to heal. but, if you're unable to give financially right now, I truly welcome your prayers, encouragement, and tags of anyone you think could help. Just knowing that people care gives me strength on the harder days. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Thank you for believing in second chances, in healing, and in the power of kindness.

Sincerely,

Brandy and Gray