“With these investments, western North Carolinians can stay connected and more easily get back on their feet – whether seeking resources, applying for a job online, starting a business, or going to school,” Stein said in a statement.
North Carolinians have begun to feel the disruptions and effects of the shutdown more sharply, something advocates and government workers warn could get worse by mid-November.
As food assistance demand is high and supplies are limited, community and peer-to-peer support are very important as we navigate these difficult times. We need to not only support food banks as much as we can, but also support each other.
Across Western North Carolina, residents, local officials, and party leaders from both sides are voicing deep frustration with what they see as Whatley’s failure to deliver meaningful recovery nearly a year after the devastating storm.
Walking through the crowds, one could meet liberals, moderates, and more than a few traditional conservatives. All agreed that the Trump administration has gone too far and must be resisted, but their individual reasons varied widely.
More than half of the nonprofits in western NC pivoted to disaster relief & recovery work. This funding will help support the operations and reconstruction projects of many organizations on the ground.
Business owners and residents have said that Whatley has rarely been seen in impacted areas, and over 100 residents have requested that Whatley be removed from the FEMA council for not delivering on his promises to help the area. North Carolina has received only roughly 9% of the funding needed to recover from the devastation left by Hurricane Helene.
Stein says that the process of recovering after a natural disaster was never an easy one, but added roadblocks by the Trump administration, such as funds held up by DOGE and FEMA’s cancellation of their BRIC program, only make matters worse for the people affected by the storm and local governments trying to rebuild. Faced with these additional hurdles, local governments are having to come up with the missing funds, leading to the slower progression, halting, or outright cancellation of projects.
Speakers at the convention raised the alarm over the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal workers, its attacks against collective bargaining, and the potential privatization of veterans’ health care. They called for solidarity among workers, saying that unions must present a united front or risk losing hard-fought worker protections and many of their jobs entirely.
Days after a mass shooting occurred at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis, North Carolina students reached out to Congressional members and state lawmakers to call for more common-sense gun safety measures. Students advocated for closing loopholes on mandatory background checks, banning assault rifles, and requiring permits to purchase firearms.