Connecting Communities through Action and Mutual Support
We believe in the power of community. We are dedicated to creating a more equitable and inclusive society through innovative solutions and ground-up leadership.
Welcome to BeLoved Asheville.
The heart of BeLoved is community.
Connecting Communities through
Action and Mutual Support
We are bringing people together from all walks of life to create home, healthy, equity, and opportunity for all in our mountain home.
We strengthen the fabric of our community by celebrating and struggling alongside our friends and neighbors, moving towards solutions that build upon the assets we see all around us.
We saw this like never before as we moved to respond to the devastating disaster when Hurricane Helene ripped through Western North Carolina on September 27th, 2024.
We are deeply honored by the outpouring of love and generosity that has lifted our region in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Thank you to those who gave their all around the clock to lift our neighbors and save lives. To the brave neighbors, volunteers, first responders and people from across the country, we are forever grateful. Together we are Appalachia Strong!
The storms raged and the waters rose and our Appalachia was forever changed. BeLoved has been on the ground for many years before Helene dramatically changed the lives of the people of these mountains. BeLoved was on the ground amidst the storm and in the immediate aftermath, and we will be here for the long haul.
The devastation we saw around us was unfathomable. And grief palpable–families lost loved ones, families were homeless in a day that would change everything. The whole region was without food, water, power, communications and passable roads. Cut off from the world.
BeLoved is a collective of people who care. We rushed into the storm and its horrific aftermath to put love into action. We became a major distribution hub sharing life-saving supplies with 15,000 people a day in impacted zones from Marshall to Chimney Rock, Barnardsville, Burnsville, Spruce Pine, Pensacola, Waynesville, Marion, Old Fort, Black Mountain, Swannanoa, Asheville, and Fairview–towns big and small and mountain hollers. We shared millions of pounds of food, millions of gallons of water, and millions of necessities from hygiene, first aid, and tools for clean up and repairs.
We saw the pain on the ground and we acted to create powerful solutions to lift up our impacted neighbors.
- Volunteers hiked supplies where roads were inaccessible taking life-saving supplies and support.
- We conducted well checks on elders and families making sure people had medications, oxygen, and insulin.
- We created temporary water infrastructure for communities and to insure schools and childcare centers had water to be able to open.
- We helped install satellite infrastructure so communities could receive vital information and be able to communicate.
- We formed flush brigades to help seniors and people with disabilities flush and sanitize their bathrooms.
- We shared tiny homes and RVs for temporary winter shelter for hundreds of people.
- To date, we have shared more than 5,000 heaters to keep families warm.
- We helped to prevent evictions and help people access permanent housing.
- We supported clean up efforts mucking out homes, cleaning debris, and helping restore roads.
- We have more than 30 home repairs and rebuilds already underway with many homes restored for families to return home early in the new year.
- And we have just broken ground in 2025 on a BeLoved Village in Swannanoa of homes for families who lost everything.
We know it will take years to heal these mountains and our people. And we are committed to be here for the long-haul until the last nail. And we need people to join us in this commitment. We carry deep wounds from this storm, but we are stronger than we could have ever imagined. We know that together we can restore, heal, and rebuild this beautiful land and lift up our mountain neighbors. We invite you to join this movement to heal Appalachia
