What comes to mind when I say “Hurricane Helene”? What comes to mind when I say “Hurricane Helene”?
Jason, 52, white, independent
Kimberly, 41, white, Democrat
Mark, 64, white, Republican, retired
In the wake of the crises of the decade so far — the pandemic, extreme weather and natural disasters, among others — Americans have increasingly expressed their doubts about institutions, the government especially.
Since Donald Trump’s return to office and the rise of Elon Musk as a major political figure, there’s been intense focus on a simple set of questions: What should the government be for? Who should it help? What explains its failures? In Opinion’s latest focus group, we spoke with 14 people from North Carolina who were either directly affected last year by Hurricane Helene, or who had close friends or family members who were. Because of that event, many of them were directly confronted with these questions of government help and trust in institutions. At a time when the future of many government services could change significantly, we asked them about what Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk are doing and how other leaders, like Joe Biden, handled the crisis.
“The whole system of fixing things is broken. Everything that’s supposed to be in place is not there,” one participant said, describing his worries about not only North Carolina but also places devastated by wildfires in recent years. Some worried about FEMA’s future, even if they were deeply dissatisfied with the recovery efforts last year, others wanted to rethink it entirely, and others expressed frustration with the lack of understanding in this hyperpoliticized environment and the false claims that circulated last fall.
And at a time when people — including participants in this group — expressed real concern and worry about government cuts, layoffs and funding changes, many also expressed a skeptical and dissatisfied view of how government performs today. What does government do well? One participant answered, “Provide complicated explanations for why it does what it does.”
Participants
Abigail 28, white, independent, operating assistant
Jason 52, white, independent, account executive
Jordan 34, white, Republican, unemployed
Kimberly 41, white, Democrat, unemployed
Kirsten 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager
LaKetha 40, Black, Democrat, counselor
Mark 64, white, Republican, retired
Nina 62, white, Republican, operations manager
Porscha 36, Black, Democrat, consultant
Regine 53, Black, independent, caterer
Richard 40, Asian, Republican, tech support manager
Steve 55, white, independent, plumber
Vincent 40, white, Republican, customer service
Sydney 29, Black, Democrat, learning specialist
Transcript
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
I want to start off with a really big question: What is government for?
Jason, 52, white, independent, account executive
Government has a lot of functions. It’s making sure that we have a functioning society and not chaos. It’s the military. It’s public services and programs like Social Security and Medicaid. It’s helping its citizens.
Porscha, 36, Black, Democrat, consultant
Maintaining order, security, protecting our rights, having some sort of rules and structure around everything — that’s my immediate thought when I think about what the government is supposed to do.
Mark, 64, white, Republican, retired
Yeah, the government is supposed to provide law and guidance to people so that we all have the same rights and responsibilities.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Let’s talk a bit about the federal government. What does the federal government do well?
Kirsten, 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager
Fund its military.
Steve, 55, white, independent, plumber
Collect taxes. That’s not a good thing.
Jordan, 34, white, Republican, unemployed
Provide complicated explanations for why it does what it does.
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
Not all the people they’re helping deserve the help, but they do supply help to people who are needy, like vets. I think they could do better.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
A great segue into my next question: Who is the federal government good at helping?
Kimberly, 41, white, Democrat, unemployed
Rich people.
Richard, 40, Asian, Republican, tech support manager
I think they do take care of businesses, so as to ensure that there’s work and jobs.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
What about state and local government? What are some things they do well, maybe even better than the federal government?
Steve, 55, white, independent, plumber
Everything.
LaKetha, 40, Black, Democrat, counselor
They are more in tune with what our citizens need, our local citizens. A lot of agencies here in North Carolina are local, and they kind of have an ear to what our local people need.
Kirsten, 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager
North Carolina is definitely pushing the boundaries of working for itself versus for the people. We’ve seen a lot of legislation passed recently that really doesn’t have the best interest of the people, along with a lot of tactics to try to block votes. So while state governments certainly are more in tune across the board, I think North Carolina is testing the limits of what would have been acceptable in the past.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
What are some things the federal government doesn’t do so well?
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
I don’t think the federal government does well with FEMA. I think that they’ve let the people of Western North Carolina down.
Sydney, 29, Black, Democrat, learning specialist
There’s been an attempt at combating rampant misinformation. I see all of these documents and websites that try to help people understand what’s actually happening in government and with FEMA. But it seems to just kind of create more mistrust and misinformation. I don’t really know how to combat that, but I think that we could explore other ways to build confidence in our government than tip sheets and fact sheets.
Steve, 55, white, independent, plumber
I think the federal government did a terrible job on the Covid response with their overreach. They threw a lot of businesses, especially restaurants and small business owners, in a big wreck, and they silenced alternative methods of treatments for Covid.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
In Washington there’s a lot of discussion about making some pretty big changes to the federal government, including reducing its size. What have people heard about the changes that have been happening in the federal government?
Jason, 52, white, independent, account executive
Obviously, I hear about Elon Musk and DOGE and the sledgehammer that they’re taking to a lot of the government agencies. There was a memo about laying off 80,000 workers in the V.A. A lot of those are veterans. So I think there’s definitely waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government that needs to be corrected. But I think we need to use a scalpel, not a sledgehammer. And I think it’s causing a lot of problems in the country.
Regine, 53, Black, independent, caterer
We have a shadow president. Elon Musk is running the country, and Trump isn’t. And he is sitting here, tearing apart the country. All these people are being laid off. It’s just a mess. I voted Republican before, so it’s nothing against them. But what they’re doing is totally wrong.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
What, in particular, do you think is wrong about it?
Regine, 53, Black, independent, caterer
That all these people are losing their jobs, veterans. There aren’t any jobs. Cuts to services, U.S.A.I.D. It’s everything. The markets are down. Farmers might lose their farms. It’s just terrible, what’s happening right now.
Mark, 64, white, Republican, retired
All the layoffs are very concerning. We’re losing jobs in the technical aspects like NOAA and the National Weather Service. They recently shut down classes for the National Fire Training Academy because all those jobs and funding were cut. And those are not just somebody pushing a piece of paper somewhere. Those vital jobs that are needed to support the whole country.
Steve, 55, white, independent, plumber
I think the cuts are absolutely good. We’ve spent billions of dollars for other countries and crazy programs like transgender research in other countries and all kinds of idiotic, non-common-sense expenditures of taxpayer dollars. And that has to change. It’s been going on for years, government waste on both sides.
Moderator, Katherine Miller
I want to switch gears a bit to North Carolina and Hurricane Helene. First, what’s your favorite thing about living in North Carolina?
Kimberly, 41, white, Democrat, unemployed
I love that I am roughly an hour and a half from virtually everything except the beach. There’s a big city relatively close by. I can go up to the mountains and hike. I can go over to nice flatlands. We’ve got really good lakes here.
Abigail, 28, white, independent, operating assistant
I similarly love the variety that we have. The mountains are so beautiful, with amazing hikes. We have beautiful beaches and big cities, lakes and a very rich history.
Regine, 53, Black, independent, caterer
Coming from New York — the quality of life here is, hands down, the best. The air smells different. You’re not in a rush to go nowhere like we are in New York. I just love being here. And moving here was the best decision I’ve ever made my whole life.
Moderator, Katherine Miller
Obviously, a major part of life in Western North Carolina in the last year has been Hurricane Helene. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when I say “Hurricane Helene”?
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
Devastating.
Jason, 52, white, independent, account executive
Horrific.
Richard, 40, Asian, Republican, tech support manager
Wrecked.
Mark, 64, white, Republican, retired
Absolute disaster.
Kimberly, 41, white, Democrat, unemployed
Devastating.
Kirsten, 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager
Yeah, devastating.
LaKetha, 40, Black, Democrat, counselor
Destruction.
were for a storm like Helene? How well prepared do you think you were for a storm like Helene?
1 means not at all prepared, and 5 means very well prepared.
1
Abigail,
28, white, independent
Jason,
52, white, independent
Kirsten,
35, white, Democrat
2
Regine,
53, Black, independent
Richard,
40, Asian, Republican
Vincent,
40, white, Republican
Sydney,
29, Black, Democrat
3
LaKetha,
40, Black, Democrat
Mark,
64, white, Republican, retired
Nina,
62, white, Republican
Steve,
55, white, independent
4
Kimberly,
41, white, Democrat
Kimberly, 41, white, Democrat, unemployed
When I first moved to North Carolina as a kid, it was actually a week before Hurricane Hugo hit. That was a profound experience that I carry with me. Preparedness becomes a focal point with every bad storm because my dad was in construction. Still, with Hurricane Helene, it happened to be that even though they said, “Here’s the worst thing that could happen,” it was still worse.
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
I lived in Florida for 16 years. So I was prepared, as far as my husband and my immediate needs. But I wasn’t prepared for the road coming up and the waters just doing what they did. I feel like I was as prepared as I could be, though.
Moderator, Katherine Miller
Porscha, you said 1. Tell me why you feel you weren’t prepared.
Porscha, 36, Black, Democrat, consultant
I’m also from New York. I went through Hurricane Sandy. At that time, people seemed to know what was going to happen. The need to evacuate, the danger zone — all that was clear. With Helene, although we watched the news, I don’t think anybody had even a clue that it was going to get that bad. One day, you’re living one way, and the next day, it’s just gone.
Moderator, Katherine Miller
Was there a specific moment when you all realized this was a bad storm?
Sydney, 29, Black, Democrat, learning specialist
I was out of the country when it was happening. I was keeping up with the news, and no one was texting me back. It would take weeks to reach friends and family. And it was weird because they didn’t know what was happening, given that there was difficulty with transportation and the phones were down. Somehow I was more informed than people who were going through it in real time.
LaKetha, 40, Black, Democrat, counselor
For me, things got real when our highway and a lot of the major roads were completely blocked. That was a doozy.
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
When the stream in front of my house was coming up to my front door and I was seeing bridges go underwater, I thought, “OK, we’re in trouble.”
Jordan, 34, white, Republican, unemployed
I wasn’t personally affected by the hurricane, but my aunt was. When I wasn’t able to get in touch with her and I heard that everybody lost power for weeks on end, I knew that things were really bad. Where I’m from, we got a few downed trees and lost power for a day or two.
Moderator, Katherine Miller
Where do you feel you got the most accurate information about what was happening in the days when the storm was happening and in the immediate aftermath?
Kirsten, 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager
It was really difficult to get accurate information during the storm. But in the aftermath Blue Ridge Public Radio was the best information that I came across. They started sending daily text messages on what they knew, and they continued to do that until we had our water back and clean.
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
It’s about the same with us. Our county, they were sending us alerts on our phone. That’s how I got it before the storm.
Moderator, Katherine Miller
Did you encounter anything that just didn’t turn out to be true or that was misleading?
Mark, 64, white, Republican, retired
That happens a lot with regular media. They try to jump on the story just to get something on the air. But they don’t have either all the information or enough facts. My two-way radio connected me with a lot of North Carolina, including the VIPER Network, the radio network for the public safety officials across the entire state.
Jason, 52, white, independent, account executive
There was a lot of politicization of the event because it was right before the big election. And there was a lot of blaming. There was a lot of misinformation about who was getting helped, who was not getting help, who was flying helicopters, who wasn’t. So a lot of stories that came out — a lot of things got debunked. A lot of things actually were true to some degree, but there was just a lot of things trying to polarize people instead of bringing us all together.
Kimberly, 41, white, Democrat, unemployed
We were without internet for the better part of two weeks. And that meant that most people were finding information on their phones, and even then, you still couldn’t get much. So a lot of people were focusing on social media, where they could get little bursts of things. There was a lot of, “Oh, well, I heard someone say this.” Seeing it through that lens pretty consistently, there were things that were getting spread that were very obviously not true. But people were not in a position to fact-check it, and that’s why it was going rampant.
in the aftermath of Helene? Did you find the government to be helpful in the aftermath of Helene?
1 means not at all helpful, and 5 means very helpful.
1
Jason,
52, white, independent
Mark,
64, white, Republican, retired
Nina,
62, white, Republican
Porscha,
36, Black, Democrat
Regine,
53, Black, independent
Richard,
40, Asian, Republican
2
Abigail,
28, white, independent
Steve,
55, white, independent
3
Jordan,
34, white, Republican
Kimberly,
41, white, Democrat
LaKetha,
40, Black, Democrat
Vincent,
40, white, Republican
4
Kirsten,
35, white, Democrat
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Porscha, I’ll start with you. Why did you give the government a 1?
Porscha, 36, Black, Democrat, consultant
I have family that was directly affected, and they just expressed to me how terrible it was, especially immediately after, to get help or support or even just an understanding of what’s all going on or when they will get help or when or how or anything. They didn’t feel safe, secure or any of the things that I said government is responsible for.
Mark, 64, white, Republican, retired
I also said 1. Locally, I think things went well. In the western part of the state, absolutely not. There are still people living in tents. It’s not right. I was denied my FEMA claim for damage over $15,000 at my home, and they won’t do anything about it.
Regine, 53, Black, independent, caterer
I have family members that are still living in trailers. And just like Mark, their claims were denied. The local government, the state, they had food. They had everything. But as far as help from the government and FEMA, they didn’t offer the help you’d think they would.
Steve, 55, white, independent, plumber
I watch both sides of the news, left and right, and try to get a common-sense truth among the polar opposite viewpoints politically. Local government and churches, they were more helpful. Definitely not FEMA. And they’re the ones that supposedly have all the money.
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
I will tell you this till the day I die: If it had not been for people coming, volunteers coming from all over the United States — we saw people from Georgia and Florida and Oregon and California and Texas — I don’t know what these people would have done without the volunteers.
Kimberly, 41, white, Democrat, unemployed
There have been a lot of different organizations that have really stepped up to do whatever they can. Some of them are funded by FEMA, and I’ve worked with a few of those. I want to make sure that everybody knows that FEMA did more than just work with those funds that directly came to us.
Richard, 40, Asian, Republican, tech support manager
I’m sure FEMA funds lots of different things, and I’m sure some of the money went to good use. But there was one organization that we were working with, donating water and things, and they would truck the supplies up to the mountains. My grandparents live up there and were without power and water. And to be fair, I know they want to make sure things are safe and things aren’t getting too crowded. But we simply weren’t allowed to go and bring supplies. So that was really frustrating.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
When it comes to the recovery from something like this, what do you think were the most helpful things that the government did?
Kirsten, 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager
In Asheville, we got a lot of attention. The Army Corps of Engineers came in to help rebuild and clean up the main water treatment plant. Their efforts were very quick, very direct, with constant updates.
Jason, 52, white, independent, account executive
The $700 they gave people, it was very demonized, a lot of controversy to say that that was all people got. But just the fact that people got that immediate funds to help buy supplies and do things — and, I mean, I wasn’t affected, but I know people who were.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Are there any people, leaders or organizations that you think of more highly after seeing how they responded to the disaster?
Vincent, 40, white, Republican, customer service
Samaritan’s Purse. They were doing a lot of volunteering and a lot of cleaning up for the western part of North Carolina, along with a lot of church leaders and organizations, too.
LaKetha, 40, Black, Democrat, counselor
Local church leaders and local businesses.
Abigail, 28, white, independent, operating assistant
I would agree about Samaritan’s Purse. I know they had a huge volume of volunteers. I volunteered with them in Asheville.
do a good job? Has the Trump-Vance
administration done a good job? Did the Biden-Harris administration do a good job?
Has the Trump-Vance administration done a good job?
Jason,
52, white, independent
Kimberly,
41, white, Democrat
Kirsten,
35, white, Democrat
Jordan,
34, white, Republican
Nina,
62, white, Republican
Richard,
40, Asian, Republican
Steve,
55, white, independent
Porscha, 36, Black, Democrat, consultant
Given my own family’s experience with denied claims, I’m just seeing a gray, negative cloud over everyone’s handling of it. I just think there wasn’t a lot of attention. I can kind of see offering a shaky hand for Biden-Harris. But it wasn’t enough. And even now, I don’t think that people understand that so much more help is needed. I think we’re almost forgotten.
Richard, 40, Asian, Republican, tech support manager
There’s only so much either side can really do, you know? But I still put my hand up for Trump-Vance because the bare minimum you can do is just show up and show your support with the community and just be there and offer whatever resources you have. At least go see some of the devastation yourself and really understand and talk to the people.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
Kirsten, you gave Biden-Harris at least a halfway raising of your hand on that one.
Kirsten, 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager
There were immediate funds released post-hurricane. Maybe you’d expect either presidency to do that, but that just happened to be the presidency at the time of the hurricane. They did fly over. I remember that. I think it was inappropriate to be on the ground. The roads were blocked, so I think that was the right thing to do, to fly over, not to actually be going into the town and closing the few roads we had open. And that’s something we saw with the Trump visit. I don’t know what Trump has done, if anything. I know he wants to gut FEMA. So how is that helpful? That’s my perspective.
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
Trump got elected on Tuesday, and he was here on Friday. And I think those people needed to see that the government was there. I think they just needed reassurance, hope, whatever.
Moderator, Katherine Miller
What has the national media gotten right about how Helene affected you? What has it gotten wrong?
Porscha, 36, Black, Democrat, consultant
I think there needs to be more attention to the stories of the people that are suffering. I would say it’s just not loud enough.
Abigail, 28, white, independent, operating assistant
I think that the media attention was so short-lived.
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
All the way down in Swannanoa, I saw people still in tents. They need to come back and show those people in tents. It’s almost forgotten. And I get it. You start living your life.
Jason, 52, white, independent, account executive
It’s like it’s old news.
Moderator, Katherine Miller
Did your experience with Helene change the way you think about other natural disasters, like the fires in Los Angeles?
Kirsten, 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager
My first thought was very selfishly like, “There goes any new support coverage for Western North Carolina. We’re moving on to the next big thing.” And rightfully so, on one hand, because that was devastating. But we’re always moving on to the next story. So it just felt like, “Well, here comes the end for our coverage.”
Moderator, Katherine Miller
I see a few people nodding.
Kirsten, 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager
And then, of course, I also felt a complete sense of loss for them because how horrifying for all those people, whether they lost their homes or just smoke damage that makes their home uninhabitable. And third, concern about FEMA — we were lucky to get a lot of money in 2024. So the 2025 bucket is probably going heavily out there. And then what does that leave for the rest of the storm season for the rest of the U.S.?
Mark, 64, white, Republican, retired
You had the fires in Hawaii, which has now been — what? — two years ago, and they haven’t rebuilt yet. Now you’ve got all these fires in California. How long is it going to take to rebuild that? How long is it going to take to rebuild Western North Carolina? The whole system of fixing things is broken. Everything that’s supposed to be in place is not there.
Moderator, Katherine Miller
Has this experience changed how you think about where you live in the United States? For the people who feel there’s a climate change element here, do you feel like the government helps you make decisions about where to live? Has anything about this experience changed how you think about the kind of home or neighborhood or place you would live in if you moved?
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
The last flooding we had in this area was, like, a hundred years ago. So I know this was just a fluke. I better knock on wood that it was a fluke. But I don’t think it would make me change.
LaKetha, 40, Black, Democrat, counselor
I know now that I need to be more prepared, that I need to have as many resources as I possibly can for myself. I was a kid as well when Hurricane Hugo came through. And then I went through this one. So it changed my thinking — not expecting that the government would come through and help. Or if they did, I felt like they just did drive-bys.
Vincent, 40, white, Republican, customer service
I would just stay right where I am. It’s all part of nature and life.
Regine, 53, Black, independent, caterer
I used to worry about the disasters where I’d live but not anymore. Not at all.
Moderator, Katherine Miller
Sydney mentioned tip sheets at the beginning of our call. There were a lot of claims swirling around last year, some of which turned out to be false. Do you trust FEMA to give accurate information about things like this?
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
I don’t trust FEMA. It’s not really saying anything bad about FEMA. I think that the state should handle stuff like that because FEMA, when I did see FEMA, they had no idea about the area. They didn’t know the hollers and places like that. So while giving them credit for what they do, they were almost lost in some cases.
Jason, 52, white, independent, account executive
Unpopular opinion: I think FEMA serves a very valuable purpose as the federal response to handle emergency management situations, like the California fires and all the things we have. I mean, Helene hit Florida. It hit Georgia. It hit South Carolina. It was not just Western North Carolina. I think it was a very difficult job because of things that Nina just talked about, all the little hollers and areas up there in the terrain. But I’m scared of losing FEMA or having FEMA be cut and when the next hurricane or natural disaster happens under this administration or moving forward. FEMA is not perfect, but I think it serves a valuable purpose.
Steve, 55, white, independent, plumber
I just don’t trust the government hardly at all, anyway, for a lot of reasons, federal government and state. I’m going to say more services should be privatized. Even FEMA could be privatized, I think.
Richard, 40, Asian, Republican, tech support manager
I think there is value to what FEMA does. But I want it ensured that the money’s going to the communities that need help. And I do have a distrust for the government in general. I just want to make sure that the tax dollars they collect go to these communities and go to things that are really going to benefit the country.
Kirsten, 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager
This is a great time to bring up insurance, because that is a form of coverage, privatized coverage. We’ve talked a lot about FEMA, government support. We’re losing insurance in Florida and California and coastal North Carolina because of natural disasters. We pay into it. That’s a private-ish way to get your money back. And a lot of these insurance claims are denied 100 percent. So I think we’ve tried that, and it failed.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
On the topic of insurance: There are some parts of the country where we know natural disasters are more likely, places where we know floods, fires or storms are expected. And in some of those places lately, these private insurers have started leaving markets. What do you think should be done when it comes to insuring people who live in areas that private insurers do not want to insure anymore?
Richard, 40, Asian, Republican, tech support manager
Insurance — that’s a huge part of the problem. They paid my claim but didn’t cover near everything that they should have. But insurance needs to replace these houses and everything. It is crazy. They keep raising the cost, and what do you get in return? I mean, I guess you do get some peace of mind, but there’s so many different riders.
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
Well, I had experience with the insurance company, and I called them twice a day, every day. I didn’t have any problems. They paid my claims, but it’s probably because I bugged them to death. They were sick of hearing from me. And to be honest with you, I have no idea how to solve that.
Kimberly, 41, white, Democrat, unemployed
I just think that any insurer that is going to be on the market, there should be something that our government puts down that says, “If you are going to function as a business, you are required to provide your services to anyone willing to pay for it.” And there should be a limit to how much that person needs to pay, because we don’t want it where there’s suddenly price gouging. But everyone should be able to get insurance. And the government is one of those entities that can step in and help make that happen.
Moderator, Kristen Soltis Anderson
If you could tell government officials one thing about your experience as someone who lived through Helene or has watched as close family members and friends have gone through this, what would you say?
Vincent, 40, white, Republican, customer service
I wish the government would know what the victims went through, actually. I want the government to be more helpful, to be more in tune with them.
Sydney, 29, Black, Democrat, learning specialist
Take a chapter from the local response. I know the government on a federal level has way more resources than local. But I just wish that they would have a continued and forceful effort in the way that local government has.
Regine, 53, Black, independent, caterer
People are really suffering out there. And they need to really step up their game and send people the help that they need.
Abigail, 28, white, independent, operating assistant
I would say that these are real people that did not think that this would ever happen to them in the mountains, and that means it could happen anywhere.
Jason, 52, white, independent, account executive
Have better coordination with local volunteer efforts. I think that was a big problem, that they weren’t listening to the people in the street who were trying to help and were taking a little bit too much control.
Porscha, 36, Black, Democrat, consultant
Make readiness a priority, be more proactive and prioritize funds so that we are fully prepared to handle these situations.
Richard, 40, Asian, Republican, tech support manager
I wish they would understand how cold it is in the winter in the mountains. Sleeping in tents is not a great experience. I just feel for all the people that were having to experience that.
Steve, 55, white, independent, plumber
Give more of the power and resources back to the local and state governments.
Kimberly, 41, white, Democrat, unemployed
Everything changes. So the response that you have to one disaster one day cannot be the same response that you have to even a similar disaster the next day because everything really matters on specifics. Knowing the people and the places — that’s what you have to do.
LaKetha, 40, Black, Democrat, counselor
We want you to come in quick. We want you to come in fast. And we want you to immediately spread the funds and the financial assistance and don’t make it hard for us to get it. And make the amounts a lot higher.
Kirsten, 35, white, Democrat, sourcing manager
During the aftermath of Helene, we completely forgot about the election and political agendas. And they would benefit by doing the same and thinking a little bit more about the citizens who live here.
Nina, 62, white, Republican, operations manager
Get here sooner. And work more with the locals and volunteers to help people.
Jordan, 34, white, Republican, unemployed
People matter more than politics. Both Republican and Democratic administrations highly politicized the recovery efforts of the government. And I think that ultimately, like everyone said, people are still suffering. And that’s been overshadowed by elections and Elon Musk’s new role and everything.
Mark, 64, white, Republican, retired
Do not forget us. We’re still out here. We’re still hurting. We’re still in need. We still need to be rebuilt.
