By Chris Allen, American Red Cross

It was Jenna Solomon’s first disaster zone deployment with the American Red Cross, and one of the hardest she could have chosen.

“I think it was a week or two after the flood had hit that I decided I wanted to go,” she said. “And I was like, well it’s going to be dangerous, like, it’s a disaster area. Things aren’t very well put together right now. I don’t care.”

Solomon went to Ashville, NC, just two weeks after Hurricane Helene roared through the panhandle of Florida, through Georgia, and stalled over the Appalachian states of Tennessee and North Carolina. Between the gale force winds and torrents of rain, an estimated 230 people died, making Helene the deadliest U.S. hurricane since 2017. About half of those deaths occurred in North Carolina.

Despite being only 18 years old, Solomon was prepared for what she might face. “I didn’t go in blind,” she said. “I knew there was going to be some dark stuff, and I understood it.” Still, she was shocked by the level of destruction she saw. “There’s two different sides. You can be told something and think you understand it, but when you actually see it in person, it’s a completely different story.”

What she saw were downed power lines, trees knocked over by the wind and water, washed out bridges and endless damage from mudslides. One of the hardest-hit towns was Burnsville which was left with no electricity, no communication, and no easy road access. “They couldn’t even get there from Ashville for quite a while after I got there because of bridges out and roads being destroyed,” she said. “They had no power until a week into my stay. And then T-Mobile set up towers so they could have cell service.”

Although new to that level of destruction, Solomon was not new to the Red Cross. As a five-year-old she had accompanied her mom Jenny, a 30-year Red Cross veteran, to many Red Cross events in Springfield, MO. It wasn’t until she was 14 that she could officially volunteer, and she was an old hand by then.

In Ashville, though, Solomon got a completely different look at what the Red Cross can do for communities suffering deep losses. “There was a lot of confusion,” she said. The victims of the storm didn’t know where to turn next, what steps to take. Solomon was assigned to work overnight in the shelter, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. She dealt with families, singles, and children of all ages--all now homeless. And although she was off during daytime hours, she felt herself drawn to the shelter.

“Even though I worked night shift I made time to visit with the younger kids,” she said. “I brought a bunch of coloring books and crayons, and I’d go into the family room we had set up for them and I colored with them. Just trying to take their minds off where they were. Because I understand how difficult it could be for a kid.”