While Hurricane Milton’s landfall in Florida this week took some of the headlines, the massive scale of destruction in our mountains continues to grip the state and the nation.

Recovering from Helene’s wrath won’t be quick or easy. Relief efforts can lose steam as time goes on. However, as President Kirk Montgomery states in the video above, SEANC is committed to being with the West every step of the way until all needs are met.

We encourage all members with needs to contact the SEANC Central Office at seanccares@seanc.org. Our staff will put you in touch with your district chair or others in your area who can help. You can also call the Central Office at 1-800-222-2758 to contact our Member Relations Team. We also continue to update our Hurricane Helene Relief page with resources for those affected and ways for everyone to help.

We are also asking members and SEANC districts to donate needed items to our office at 1621 Midtown Place, Raleigh, NC 27609. You can even have Amazon ship these items directly to SEANC. We have created a shopping list for you to buy items from here. Western Regional Rep. Cliff Johnson from District 2 and Retiree Council Chairman Jamie Robinson of District 9 are coordinating this effort. Thank you to all the districts, members, and community members who have contributed so far.

Most agencies have been highlighting stories of their workers in action since the recovery began on social media. We are sharing as many as we see to show the world how important state employees are for this effort. The N.C. Department of Transportation released a video today on the huge job facing road construction workers, with Division 13 Engineer Tim Anderson saying, “We've got a team that can move mountains, and we're going to put that to the test."

The Department of Adult Correction is also reeling from the storm’s impact. On this week’s episode of the SEANC View Podcast, First Vice President Wendell Powell said that six prisons have been damaged in the area, inmates are being moved to other facilities that are already understaffed, and employees throughout the West cannot get to work at all in many cases.

Also on this week’s episode, Montgomery and Member Relations Director Lynn Cote give an update on SEANC’s internal relief efforts, including the SEANC Cares initiative and supplies drive (see below), and Executive Director Ardis Watkins recaps the General Assembly session on Wednesday, where legislators voted unanimously to pass a $273 million relief package as a start to what will surely be a much larger spend.

Listen to the SEANC View Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, or Podbean.