North Carolina Disaster Response: 103.3 Community Radio in Asheville

By RJ Ruotolo, Ozark Field Crew Member/ AmeriCorps Member

It’s easy to forget sometimes when I walk in Asheville, North Carolina on my days off that this was a community affected by Hurricane Helene. From my limited scope, I don’t necessarily see the destroyed buildings, gutted homes, downed power lines, or fallen trees. In some of these areas, life goes on as if nothing happened.

On my most recent Sunday off this disaster response, a couple of fellow Corps members and I walked around downtown. Along the way, we saw a pop up tent for 103.3 Asheville FM. They were selling CDs and records to raise money for their station. We learned they’re a volunteer-run and community-based radio station dedicated to their micro community in Asheville. The range of music and conversations is broad, but each DJ or host is hyper specific just as their interests are.

After they learned that we were here for disaster relief, they thanked us and offered the CDs we’d picked out free of charge. While life goes on in the rest of the world, and seemingly even niche areas in Asheville, the impact of the storm hasn’t gone away. Talking to the locals, they all have an understanding that what they went through was incredible and are incredibly thankful to us for being here. They recount stories of the storm’s devastation, but that mutual experience how they come together too.

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, 103.3 Asheville FM supports community members by sharing information for “where to find water, food, gas, joy, and recovery assistance” on their platforms and offering “respite from the struggles [Asheville locals]” face. It’s through connectivity, joy, and pain shared as a whole that people come together and overcome immense devastation. It’s easy to not see a city or town or state as a community, but organizations like these bring people together physically, psychologically, and spiritually. It’s amazing to see how Asheville has come together in support of one another, and 103.3 Asheville FM is one of those efforts.