“I can only imagine what my parents had to go through for that land.” Gwendolyn Brown grew up in Back Street, a long-time African American community in Trenton, NC. When you enter the neighborhood, you pull off of ‘Backstreet Road’, go down a gravel hill, and enter what Brown calls ‘a bowl.’ She is familiar…
Read MoreWillie Johnson has been driving 30 minutes from his hometown in New Bern, NC to the more rural area of Trenton, NC for nine years. His congregation is there – in a church located within ‘the bowl’ of Back Street. Many of his parishioners have weathered all of North Carolina’s storms. And geographically, African American…
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“I’m not against integration, but I think people are being cheated out of their homes.” Her mother’s home was condemned. Then her uncle’s. Ophelia Chambers’ family homestead has been in the same location off of Bridges Street in Morehead City, NC for at least 4 generations. In the wake of Hurricane Florence, her traditionally African…
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Jacqueline has been repairing her home from Hurricane Florence since September 2018. During those two years she has stayed with family, gone through the FEMA trailer program and then bought a travel trailer of her own – all while her home was still being repaired. Now, because of Covid-19, the nearly two-year repair process is…
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It’s been nearly two years since Hurricane Florence flooded the Maple Hill neighborhood in Pender County, NC. But Arlisha Hill’s home is still far from repaired. Hill was ready to resume life as normal. She moved back into her partially repaired home this April – thinking construction would continue and she’d be living in a…
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Illicit drug users face unique challenges during disasters like Hurricane Florence and COVID-19. What happens when dealers leave town or shelter-in-place? How do overdose rates change? Find out on this week’s episode of Storm Stories. Support the show (https://shoresides.org/support/). Want to Help: Donate – To The Good Shepherd Center to fund housing assistance programs….
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Fanny Irving has lived in Trenton all of her life. She lives in the home that from 1971 – 1975 she built with her late husband. First Floyd, and now Florence, have taken that home from her. Flood Zone is a special investigation reporting on flooding in Coastal Carolina communities. The podcast is a special…
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Julia Narvaez didn’t feel tied to her hometown, Wilmington, North Carolina. Instead, she felt disdain for the social and economic inequities in her community. But when Hurricane Florence hit, her feelings for the town changed. Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, Speak Your Piece brings you the opinions of your coastal neighbors on today’s pressing…
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Jonny Morales, 18, talks about what it was like returning to his hometown – Wilmington, North Carolina – after Hurricane Florence. And how he, his family, and his neighbors rebuilt the remains of their community together. Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, Speak Your Piece brings you the opinions of your coastal neighbors on today’s…
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By Karissa Sowers All I could hear was the helicopter rotor whipping its long blades as we waited on the grass to be rescued. The helicopter was there to rescue neighbors who were stuck after Hurricane Florence flooded all the roads near my grandparent’s home. There were only three roads that could get you to their house….
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