Throughout Hurricane Helene, the slogan going around Haywood County has been, “neighbors helping neighbors.” The personification of those words is nowhere more apparent than at Haywood Pathways Center in Waynesville, where a small group of volunteers gathered on Oct. 5 to minister to some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.
“I love the people here, and there’s been a lot of kind people who’ve helped me out during this storm,” said Bri Myles, who lives in Cullowhee and studies anthropology at Western Carolina University. “I need to pay it forward, keep the good energy going.”
Pathways is a Christ-centered residential center that provides food, shelter and personalized support services to anyone that needs it — especially those experiencing homelessness, substance abuse disorder or economic distress. Since 2014, Pathways has provided more than $8.5 million in services to residents of Haywood County at almost no cost to taxpayers.
When Helene ravaged Western North Carolina on Sept. 27, Myles was in Asheville, where she works. Her parents live in Canton, and she’s staying with them until things return to normal.
