When Hurricane Helene moved through Swannanoa in fall 2024, it did more than damage homes and infrastructure. It disrupted the fabric of the community. In the months that followed, recovery began to take shape through local action, coordination, and support from the Appalachian Design Center (ADC), a program of MountainTrue.
At the outset, it was unclear exactly where the work would lead or what form of support would be most useful. ADC’s role was to remain responsive and assess priorities and needs of the community by working alongside existing groups, helping organize a broad and inclusive engagement process, and bringing technical support and connections to help move ideas forward.
Friends and Neighbors of Swannanoa (FANS), Swannanoa Communities Together (SCT), and the Swannanoa Grassroots Alliance (SGA) were already deeply engaged in supporting residents and sharing resources. ADC built on that foundation, expanding outreach to include voices that were not yet fully represented, particularly Spanish-speaking residents, renters, and those most impacted by the storm.
Over the course of a year, engagement included community events, pop-up conversations, surveys, and bilingual sessions held across Swannanoa. ADC also coordinated closely with Buncombe County’s Small Area Plan process and other recovery efforts to help ensure community input was shared across planning efforts, rather than siloed.
Clear priorities emerged:
The process also helped organize those priorities into actionable efforts with identified leaders, partners, and next steps that can continue to evolve as the work moves forward.
This work is reflected in several community-driven efforts, including the design of a proposed community resilience hub, long-term planning for Valley Hope Church as a community resource, and the formation of a locally led emergency preparedness working group. For both the community resilience hub and the planning for Valley Hope Church, ADC brought together a team of design professionals to contribute their expertise. For emergency preparedness, once the idea surfaced through community engagement, Appalachian Voices stepped in to guide the community through the process. Each reflects the same approach: community-defined, partner-supported, and positioned to inform continued action.
What has taken shape is a coordinated path forward, grounded in local knowledge, strengthened through collaboration, and focused on helping Swannanoa’s priorities move toward tangible next steps.
