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Appalachia Relief

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Mental Health

Mental Health Counseling and Support

In-Person Offerings

Individual

Group

Virtual Offerings

Helplines

Substance Abuse

Community Gatherings

Mental Health Support - Mind-Body Practices

YOGA

Dance

Domestic & Sexual Violence and Human Trafficking

Mental Health Counseling and Support

In-Person Offerings

Individual

  • Black Mountain Counseling Center: First Baptist Church, 130 Montreat Road, Black Mountain, NC - 9 am to 6 pm daily. +1 (828) 388-7433. Staff available in person. (Black Mountain and Old Fort offices closed.)

Group

  • Oasis Recovery. Asheville. 191 Charlotte St. 10/8 and 10/9, 12pm to 4pm. Hurricane Helene Sobriety Support Group. or-nc.com (Source: 10/7, Facebook)
  • SeekHealing. ASHEVILLE. Wednesdays and Sundays, 1pm - 6pm. Inside on the first floor of the United Way building at 50 S. French Broad Ave. Text for more info: 703-731-4421. We provide free support services to any stage in the process of healing from trauma and/or addiction and mental health challenges.
  • Facilitating ongoing open Connection Practice circles: to process grief, survival experiences, and trauma in a community container. Non-clinical, trauma-informed space led by trained facilitators who are neighbors and peers. There will be food available to take home with you. Bring resources to share, or not if you have none.
  • SeekHealing. WAYNESVILLE. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12pm - 5pm. Inside on the first floor of the United Way building at 50 S. French Broad Ave. Text for more info: 703-731-4421. We provide free support services to any stage in the process of healing from trauma and/or addiction and mental health challenges.
  • Facilitating ongoing open Connection Practice circles: to process grief, survival experiences, and trauma in a community container. Non-clinical, trauma-informed space led by trained facilitators who are neighbors and peers. There will be food available to take home with you. Bring resources to share, or not if you have none.
  • Hosting free Listening Circles, open to all WNC residents. Listening Circles. If you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or upset; if you saw or responded to something hard; or if you are looking to connect with others in the community, join us online as we lean on one another and highlight what is getting us through this difficult time.

Virtual Offerings

  • SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration): The Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) is the first national hotline dedicated to providing year-round disaster crisis counseling. This toll-free, multilingual, crisis support service is available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters.
  •  Call or text 1-800-985-5990
  • Español: Llama o envía un mensaje de texto 1-800-985-5990 presiona “2.”
  • For Deaf and Hard of Hearing ASL Callers: Please text or call the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 using your preferred Relay provider.
  • Better Help: providing professional, affordable, and personalized therapy in a convenient online format.
  • Currently offering 3 months of free mental healthcare health therapy for anyone impacted by Hurricane Helene using the voucher code: Hurricane-Helene-support

Helplines

  • Black Mountain Counseling Center: +1 (828) 388-7433. Our counselors are available for free, pro-bono calls and virtual appointments depending on their personal situations.
  • If email is easier for you, you can email us at helenesupport@blackmountaincounseling.org
  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988. Call or text. Provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, across the United States and its territories.
  • Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the United States – 24/7, free, confidential. Crisis Text Line (CTL) is here for you. A live, trained volunteer Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds, all from our secure online platform. The volunteer Crisis Counselor will help you move from a hot moment to a cool calm.

Substance Abuse

  • SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration): The Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH) is the first national hotline dedicated to providing year-round disaster crisis counseling. This toll-free, multilingual, crisis support service is available 24/7 to all residents in the U.S. and its territories who are experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters.
  •  Call or text 1-800-985-5990
  • Español: Llama o envía un mensaje de texto 1-800-985-5990 presiona “2.”
  • For Deaf and Hard of Hearing ASL Callers: Please text or call the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 using your preferred Relay provider.
  • The Steady Collective: Substance use support and Narcan access. A non-judgmental, harm reduction based organization that serves people who use drugs. We support any positive change. Weekly locations:
  • Tuesdays. 12pm-1:30pm: In front of Compass Point, 201 Tunnel Rd.
  • Wednesdays. 10am-12:30pm: Sly Grog parking lot, 271 Haywood st.
  • Fridays. 2pm-5pm. Next to China Taste, 202 State St.

Community Gatherings

  • Sweet Relief Concert Series. Ongoing. 1pm to 4pm. World Kitchen Dining area at Wicked Weed Funkatorium. 147 Coxe Ave. Asheville. Free music, free hugs, free smiles. Free food/water. Live music.
  • Emote. 10/7. 2pm to 4pm. 444 Haywood Rd. West Asheville. Art activities and peer support. Time and space to be creative and decompress. Bring art supplies to share if you have them.
  • Sat 10/5 song circle at 5pm across from Haywood fire station. Food and water also available
  • Sat 10/5 Dance in Montford park 11am-2pm, free, hosted by Josiah
  • Sat 10/5 Stand up at 7pm 29 Westwood Place “Fuck It Hurricane Comedy”

Mental Health Support - Mind-Body Practices

YOGA

  • West Asheville Yoga. 602 Haywood road, Asheville 28806. Offering free classes for the next two weeks but also accepting donations for classes.
  • Monday-Friday: 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM, 5:30 PM
  • Saturday:10:00 AM
  • Sunday: 10:00 AM, 4:00 PM.

Dance

Asheville - Sunday Oct. 13, 11-2 pm.  400 Montford & Zilicoa.  Free dance wave with Hunter the Gather & Isaiah followed by Sound Healing.  Bring a food item to share afterwards (optional).  Offered by The Asheville Movement Collective and Star Tribe.

Domestic & Sexual Violence and Human Trafficking

Our Voice is open for services 10a-3p Monday-Friday for survivors of sexual violence and human trafficking, Address: 35 Woodfin St Asheville, NC 28801. Crisis line 24/7 at (828) 255-7576.

They provide advocacy services and counseling related to sexual violence and human trafficking.          Our Voice believes that you are the expert when choosing what support you need and how you receive it. Some of the options available to you are listed below, but you are not limited to these choices — we support your individual path toward healing.

  1. First, get to a safe place.
  2. Then contact someone you trust who can help you.
  3. To speak to an advocate, call our 24-7 hotline (828) 225-7576 (language interpretation available).
    Advocates act as a bridge to medical, legal and social service systems. They are trained to ensure your rights are respected and your needs are met.
    S    ource: web submission. Home - Our VOICE (ourvoicenc.org) (added 10/12/24)

Self-Care Practices 
These practices can help you move through emotions, reduce stress, and feel more calm. However, they can make you emotional first as you’re coming into more contact with what’s present. You might want to sandwich them together.

  • When you’re feeling a lot (including numbness/dissociation place your hands on your body, either your heart or where you’re feeling a lot of sensation or not feeling, and say out loud “Right now I’m feeling…” For example, “Right now I’m feeling overwhelmed and terrified.” Take a few breathes. Repeat saying everything you’re feeling or thinking. This helps your body acknowledge how you’re feeling and stop bracing against it. It can bring some softening
  • Voo - This comes from Somatic Experiencing, a trauma healing modality. Take a deep breath and on the exhale say vooooooooooo. You can moo or boo as well. It create a vibration that helps dissipate energy. Humming is similar and shown to boost the immune system.
  • Bilateral stimulation / butterfly tapping - Place your right hand on your left clavicle/shoulder and left hand on right clavicle/shoulder. Alternate tapping each hand. This is bilateral stimulation that is soothing and actually originated in supporting Hurricane survivors. You can do this while talking out loud about what you have or are experiencing and it helps your brain reduce the emotional intensity.
  • Emotional Freedom Technique aka EFT Tapping. EFT tapping involves lightly tapping on Chinese Medicine acupressure points while verbally processing; it’s been shown to reduce cortisol and is effective at improving PTSD. You can tap on these points without saying anything and will still experience a calming effect. It may increase emotions and sensations before decreasing them; totally normal. Graphic below with points to tap on Begin by tapping on the side of your left hand and start describing how you’re feeling, sensations you’re experiencing, thoughts you’re having. Every 5 statements or so say “I’m open to this energy shifting” or “Even though I’m experiencing X I love and accept myself.” Move the center of the head (really more towards back top of the head), for each point 2-9 you’ll say one statement as you tap. You’ll repeat tapping along these points while rotating. Continue to describe how you feel, sensations, thoughts, etc. Sprinkle in those two statements about energy shifting or loving yourself. As you notice energy shifting begin to make statements about “I trust this won’t last forever. Or I’m open to feeling different” Basically statements that open up the possibility about things changes. You’ll finish tapping by describing how you want to feel, what you want for your community, etc. “I know I can get through this.” https://www.autismsociety-nc.org/hurricane-resources-2/

Last updated: December 12, 2024, 3:47 am