In natural disasters and emergency situations, aid often comes in several forms. With governments and nonprofits, that may take longer because of their rules, regulations and time it takes to coordinate. But an established grassroots group, Triangle Mutual Aid, leaped into action even before Tropical Depression Chantal’s floodwaters receded – and has been helping the most impacted victims in a variety of ways since.
The collective initially developed as a quick response to a water crisis in 2017, when the Orange Water and Sewer Authority shut down service to Chapel Hill and Carrboro customers from an over-feed of fluoride. Organizer Devin Ceartas said a group of residents gathered together to distribute water with no questions asked and realized how quick their own actions could be compared to others’. As time went on, interest and need for mutual aid spread to other parts of the Triangle and the group officially branded itself as Triangle Mutual Aid.
Since then, the team helps with calls big and small – with Ceartas describing their aid as ranging from helping build or repair houses and cars to coordinating relief after Hurricanes Debby and Helene in the Carolinas last year.
“It tends to be more horizontal than some other organizations,” the Chapel Hill resident said to 97.9 The Hill. “We tend to use consensus a lot, we tend to be fairly decentralized, which is a huge asset in things like immediate response [to] things like Chantal.”
When the historic rainfall and catastrophic flooding struck Central North Carolina on July 6, many community members already knew to turn to Triangle Mutual Aid – and those who did not quickly learned of their presence thanks to their fundraising and calls for help. Long-term relief may come from state or federal grants, with the local governments also establishing a fund to support different areas of need in the storm’s aftermath. But Ceartas said Triangle Mutual Aid has already distributed roughly $20,000 of funds to flood victims and people who need money right away to begin the recovery process.
“Our belief is the people that are impacted are the experts on their own need,” he said. “And so, our criteria are: ‘Are you a real person, and are you going to spend the money on what you say you’re going to?’ Then, okay, you know what your needs are.”
Like other relief efforts, the group has faced its own hurdles – such as short turnaround times for volunteers, spending caps on its Venmo page and an imposter soliciting donations. But Triangle Mutual Aid has worked past all of that to provide bodies, supplies and advice since July 6. The organization quickly shared tips for mucking and gutting waterlogged homes to prevent the growth of black mold and move quickly on cleaning units. It also called for a donation drive of cleaning materials and protective gear, first basing it out of Back Alley Bikes before moving its biggest stockpile of supplies to the Carrboro Town Hall annex at 108 Bim Street.
“There’s a whole [other effort] that happens behind the scenes too,” Ceartas added. “There are ways that people who are not able to physically able to go and pull couches out of people’s houses [can contribute.] There are groups of people organizing food relief – we’re bringing meals to the communities where people are sorting through their possessions, food to the work crews, we’re starting to organize food to some of the hotels where people have been moved who have been displaced.”
In total, Triangle Mutual Aid has seen hundreds of people who have signed up to volunteer at least once, with a few dozen regulars that Ceartas described as “ad-hoc leaders” for multiple visits or trips to flood-impacted areas. And while some of the first steps to address immediate needs may be through, he said he expects volunteers may begin to adopt the same philosophy he did to build out Triangle Mutual Aid.
“Once you get it, you get it – you go out and do it,” he said. “You take care of your neighbor, you don’t need to ask anyone’s permission. Feel free to contact us if you need resources to help with that…but [Triangle Mutual Aid’s sentiment] spreads at the speed of awareness.”
As for Ceartas, he said some of the memories he’ll carry from his own volunteering in the initial wake of Chantal will be bittersweet from the groundswell of support for Chapel Hill and Carrboro but also the pain he witnessed.
“I’ll always remember pulling a couch out and ripping up the carpet as someone sobs in the kitchen thinking about furniture they bought recently and had not finished paying off,” he said. “You pull out some books, and they’re like, ‘Oh, that can go,’ and then you pull out the photo album…and that hits people really hard [to let go of.]
“But also,” Ceatas continued, “just the incredible uplift of the community is amazing. Doing this kind of work can simultaneously be some of the worst stuff you’ve experienced and some of the best.”
Community members interested in supporting relief efforts or resources like Triangle Mutual Aid can use this list curated by Chapelboro.
Featured photos via Triangle Mutual Aid on Instagram.
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