Soiled bed sheets, overflowing toilets and infected wounds were not unusual sights at Asheville鈥檚 public housing communities in the days after Hurricane Helene, residents and volunteers said.
鈥淭he resources were very few,鈥� Hillcrest resident Monica Durham said. 鈥淲e didn't have too many people coming over and checking to see if the elders got what they needed or were taken care of鈥� I just thought it was awful that no one came to help.鈥�
Like much of Asheville, public housing communities lacked power, water, cell service and Wifi for days 鈥� and in some cases weeks 鈥� after the storm.
Asheville Housing Authority CEO Monique Pierre refuted residents' claims in a Monday interview.
She said the agency 鈥渒nocked on every door鈥� and helped distribute food and water to residents starting the week of Oct. 2, six days after the storm hit.
鈥淲e were packing food and making sure that residents had everything that we could possibly provide to them,鈥� she said.
Her staff worked at the time in 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� circumstances, Pierre maintained.
In the first week after the storm, the housing authority was operating on a 鈥渟keleton crew,鈥� Pierre said.
She said she typically works with a staff of more than 150. In the first week, she said she had around 30 employees available to cut down fallen trees and coordinate water resources from the city and volunteers. Pierre also prioritized some administrative tasks.
鈥淚 had to make sure landlords got paid. And they did,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 had to make sure that staff got paid.鈥�
鈥淚 had to make sure landlords got paid. And they did,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 had to make sure that staff got paid.鈥�
Residents told BPR the agency failed them at their greatest hour of need, leaving elderly and vulnerable residents who struggled with unsanitary environments dependent on volunteers and each other for basic living needs.
Even now, as they are without running water, residents called the Flush Brigade to flush their toilets.
At Aston Tower, an 11-story public housing complex, residents were unable to flush or shower for more than two weeks, BPR . Toilets overflowed onto the floor as the smell of sewage faintly permeated the hallways.
One volunteer, Norman, a nurse from Charlotte who was doing wellness checks, witnessed the dire conditions.
More able-bodied residents were taking supply trips for those who were unable to leave, he said, expressing despair at the limitations of volunteers' capacities.
鈥淚 can't go in and clean somebody's room. I'm here to clean a wound. I can help take care of their person, but as far as where they're living, their health is still at risk. But we're not equipped to go in and like, mop somebody's bathroom.鈥�
Pierre acknowledged the housing authority鈥檚 reliance on volunteers, especially the Flush Brigade, to get support for residents.
鈥淚 am grateful to everyone who has stepped up to help our public housing residents. We can't do this alone,鈥� she said.
Volunteers like Rebekah Todd said dozens of units in the communities she visited, including Bartlett Arms, Aston Tower and Asheville Terrace, were 鈥済oing completely overlooked.鈥�
When the power went out, the elevator stopped working, creating challenges for seniors who used wheelchairs.
鈥淪ome people were stuck on the 11th floor for 11 days,鈥� the Beloved Asheville volunteer said. 鈥淭hey were wheelchair bound and had no way to leave, so if volunteer teams weren't going all the way to the 11th, these people received nothing for 11 days.鈥�
Todd and others brought water to places that had none, flushed toilets, provided life-saving medication. Sometimes, she said, they were the first to knock on a person鈥檚 door since the storm hit.
Todd said she and fellow volunteers often 鈥渇ind people right on the edge.鈥�
Those scenarios included infected wounds, soiled bed sheets, overflowed toilets, and a diabetic person without insulin, Todd said.
Pierre said her team did their best to connect residents with FEMA as well as other food and water resources but that it is not their job to care for their basic needs. 鈥淲e're not really assisted living here,鈥� she said.
People who are unable to flush their own toilets, Pierre said, should tap into FEMA relief and use a hotel voucher to 鈥渓ive somewhere else until this chaos is over.鈥�
FEMA has not gone door-to-door at the housing authority yet, Pierre confirmed.
鈥淲e're hopeful that that can occur really soon,鈥� she said.
鈥淣o communication about the storm鈥澛�
Elizabeth Alvandi, a resident of Deaverview, said the lack of support for housing residents started before Helene even made landfall.
鈥淭here was no communication about the storm coming up or precautions to take during a storm,鈥� she said. 鈥淎 lot of people didn't know to fill buckets with the water and things like that ahead of time.鈥�
The first time someone came to check on Deaverview residents, according to Alvandi, was six days after Helene hit the state, on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
鈥淚t was a woman with a bullhorn, yelling that since we were complaining about the water, we needed to come help them in the office,鈥� Alvandi said.
Pierre confirmed that the week of Oct. 2 is when the housing authority began its community outreach.
Asked about the concerns, Pierre said 鈥渢here are always going to be folks who slip through the cracks.鈥�
Samantha Robinson, another Deaverview resident, said she had a difficult time trying to communicate with housing authority staff.
She said she went to the housing authority office with the goal of speaking with Pierre and was sent back and forth between buildings.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a car. I鈥檓 on foot,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd they wouldn鈥檛 even let me in the building.鈥�
Robinson also said she has had a really tough time gathering creek water and bringing it to her unit for toilet flushing because of a back injury.
It was not until a full week after Helene鈥檚 landfall that Deaverview began to see significant supplies come into the community, Alvandi said.
As residents waited for non-potable water, Alvandi said that some of the excrement was going in the facility鈥檚 trash cans.
鈥淲ith the trash accumulating for about two weeks behind our house, and without people not necessarily knowing how they could use their toilets, I was worried that we were going to have just a horrible outbreak of sickness,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 did get sick a couple of times. I had both fever and diarrhea.鈥�
After facing questions about conditions in public housing, Pierre told BPR not to 鈥渂elieve the lies.鈥�
She said she received thousands of emails from 鈥渢hird party agitators鈥� who are 鈥渕aking our residents feel that we're doing something bad to them.鈥�
She accused the advocates of 鈥渜uestioning our compassion, questioning my dedication, questioning my staff鈥檚 dedication.鈥�
Pierre stood by the agency鈥檚 response. 鈥淲e've done, you know, I think an extraordinary job and I'm going to give my team all the credit,鈥� she said.
Will residents get a break on rent?
On Oct. 2, the housing authority plastered flyers on its residents鈥� doors, informing tenants that rent was still due for October.
鈥淩ent for the month of October IS still be due [SIC] and will be collected as soon as the property offices reopen,鈥� the flyer said. 鈥淟ate fees will not be assessed for the month of October.鈥�
When asked about the flyers, Pierre said that their purpose was just to 鈥渓et residents know that they would not be receiving any late fees.鈥�
鈥淲e had residents bringing us rent or attempting to bring rent when the offices were closed. We wanted to make sure that, if they came, that they understood what their options were,鈥� she said.
Pierre acknowledged that the flyers might have 鈥渟erved to heighten people鈥檚 anxiety.鈥�
She said that people misunderstood her as 鈥渟ome uncompassionate ogre who is requiring people who are, you know, beyond their wits end dealing with this tragedy and this disaster to have to hurry up and pay rent. That was not our intention in that communication,鈥� she said.
The housing authority plans to share another update on the status of rent 鈥渁t the end of the month." She said residents who 鈥渆xperience hardship鈥� should have their rent taken down to zero, but it is a decision made on an individual basis.
Asked about whether there would be changes to rent going forward, Pierre said, 鈥淚 would prefer not to comment on that just because it's already too much confusion, so until we put out our next little written flyer or our written statement, there won't be any other communication regarding that.鈥�
As of Monday, more than two weeks after the storm, the housing authority had not communicated anything specific about what residents can expect for their October rent.
Rent relief is a best practice, HUD secretary says聽
Rent relief in disasters is not without precedent.
On Friday, Acting Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Adrianne Todman .
Todman, who runs the federal body that funds the housing authority, said she does not want anyone who lives in public housing to feel 鈥渦nnecessarily displaced鈥� by the disaster.
She said it is ultimately Pierre鈥檚 choice to decide on whether or not to waive rent.
The local housing authority must from the federal government that would allow them to use money for rental assistance or implement other methods of flexibility, per HUD.
In terms of best practices, Todman recommended rent abatement of rent or rent forgiveness, depending on the situation.
Pierre told BPR she was in the process of requesting waivers, but refused to identify which waivers she submitted. She said she does not want to make a promise to residents until she and the housing authority board put together a plan.
While they wait, many residents are worried about what will come due, Alvadine said.
The financial damage of the storm is 鈥渢he scariest thing for a lot of people,鈥� she said.
鈥淢any of us had to use what little cash we had on things like, you know, food or toiletries. Most of us are on food stamps, but with the electricity being down, you couldn't use your food stamps,鈥� she said.
鈥淎nd once you're behind, it's really hard to catch up.鈥�
