United Way of Henderson County (UWHC) has been working to organize and mobilize community resources to improve the lives of Henderson County residents since 1953.
When Helene struck, the County called upon UWHC to serve the community at an even higher capacity. In October alone, they connected over 1,500 volunteers to support Helene response and recovery and they continue to work diligently behind the scenes to support disaster recovery partners throughout Henderson County.
Most recently, UWHC has been the driving force behind the creation of a new program, the Henderson County Disaster Recovery Partnership (DRP), which connects more than 50 agencies working collaboratively to address the Helene recovery needs that our community continues to face. UWHC’s record of strong partnerships, community engagement, accountability, and trust resulted in a request from the Disaster Recovery Partnership Advisory Committee’s for UWHC to serve as the fiscal sponsor for this collaborative community work.
“United Way of Henderson County has been on the front lines of disaster recovery coordination since the first days after the storm,” said UWHC Executive Director Kat Carlton. “With so much need, and so many partners working to help meet that need, it became clear that it was critical to find ways to support a centralized, coordinating group of partnering organizations whose common goal is to assist the impacted individuals and families with their long-term recovery.”
The mission of the Disaster Recovery Partnership is to unite and empower Henderson County communities in the face of disasters by promoting effective information sharing, simplifying access to critical resources for individuals and families, and collaboratively addressing unmet needs. To support this effort, UWHC has recently hired John Hughes, the Senior Director of the Disaster Recovery Partnership, and has three additional positions posted to support this work.
Recognizing that navigating resources is a complicated, and often challenging, experience for disaster survivors, UWHC has also committed to providing training and support to fund resource navigation experts to serve as Disaster Case Managers (DCM) and has just announced $323,082 in funding to support DCM positions at five local nonprofit agencies.
This work is in addition to a robust local community impact portfolio that includes Community Investment Grants to 25 local nonprofits, funding for 13 local food pantries, 30 Helene Relief and Recovery Grants, support for Henderson County Rescue Squad, and seven internal programs and initiatives.
“We recognize that navigating resources can be difficult and that it often takes several nonprofit partners working together to support a family,” said DRP Senior Director John Hughes. “We are committed to simplifying access to critical resources for our Henderson County neighbors to help them through the challenging process of disaster recovery.”
About United Way of Henderson County
United Way is advancing the common good by creating opportunities for a better life in Henderson County. If you would like more information or would like to make a donation, contact United Way of Henderson County at PO Box 487, Hendersonville, NC 28793, 828-692-1636, or visit online at liveunitedhc.org. You can also find UWHC on Facebook.
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