SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — It has been almost two months since Hurricane Helene brought devastating flood waters to North Carolina, and a local woman has returned back home in search of additional supplies.
Kat Arnsdorf, founder of 'Together we Rise', said that she witnessed the aftermath first-hand.
"We've found bones that have been sent off to be identified,” Arnsdorf said. “We're waiting on that to come back. I know that there have been teams that in multiple areas that are still finding cadavers."
She told News 3 that families are still living in temporary shelters, and some are living in tents.
"There are some people that are still on their property and fighting for their property, making sure that looters don't come in and take what's left,” she said. “And we are trying our hardest to get as many campers and RV’s and tiny homes in so that we can get them out of these conditions because winter is here."
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She said the recovery phase has been a community effort, with support reaching from as far as back home. She told News 3 that around 20 soldiers from Fort Stewart volunteer at a time.
"We were contacted and asked, 'Hey, y'all running all these operations here by chance? Can you get us some cadaver dogs?’,” Arnsdorf said. “So, I reached out to some of the people from Chatham County and Liberty County. Sure enough, in 45 minutes we had a team of dogs ready for us."
We are told those impacted are no longer seeking clothing and canned foods but rather supplies to build and repair homes.
"Find out what's needed,” said Arnsdorf. “And if you want to send a Home Depot card because you're not sure what is needed - Home Depot, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, places like this that have ample amounts of supplies for a discounted price. Get together, call one of us and see where we're at with our projects and what we're needing for that specific family."
Arnsdorf said she is willing to work with the victims as long as possible, and she hopes their needs are not forgotten.
"They’re hugging me, crying, telling me that they are terrified that people are going to forget the time is going to pass,” she said. “People are going to think that because they're not seeing anything on the news, they're not hearing anything on the radio that these areas are okay."
Together We Rise Inc. can be reached at (912) 271-2469. Monetary donations can be sent to Cashapp at $TogetherWeRiseInc.