Davie County student‑services staff deployed to Buncombe County after Hurricane Helene; Buncombe McKinney‑Vento caseload rose from 274 to 1,171

Davie County Schools’ student‑services staff traveled to Buncombe County to provide crisis and recovery support after Hurricane Helene, presenting the board with on‑the‑ground observations and an updated tally of displaced students.

Jennifer Custer, the district’s student‑services administrator, said she and a small team of counselors and social workers responded after Buncombe County Superintendent Dr. Jackson requested mutual‑aid support. The Davie team — which included Jenny McPherson (lead middle‑school counselor) and social worker Paulina Hanner — were assigned to Buncombe’s PIP program, a multi‑campus progressive education program that serves roughly 150 students with moderate to severe physical and intellectual disabilities across 24 classrooms. The team provided crisis support to staff and students, helped at a family resource center and performed home visits when requested by Buncombe staff.

Custer described the conditions staff encountered: schools and neighborhoods with downed power lines, demolished roofs and other storm damage; large numbers of donated supplies staged at a school‑based family resource center; and families living temporarily in hotels, tents or makeshift shelters. She said Buncombe staff were still working on water access and hygiene concerns for students and that staff at the PIP program were ‘‘so tired’’ from sustained recovery work.

Davie staff reported Buncombe County’s McKinney‑Vento caseload (students identified as experiencing homelessness or housing instability under federal McKinney‑Vento definitions) increased from 274 at the start of the school year to about 1,171 after the storm, according to the presentation. The Davie team described delivering supplies, making home visits and helping Buncombe staff triage needs; they also noted Buncombe’s family resource center had received large donation volumes and in some cases was already turning away donations because of capacity limits.

Custer and colleagues said Buncombe’s superintendent made a point of personally welcoming mutual‑aid staff at the hotels where teams were housed and that the county’s convocation slogan that year — "#TogetherWeRise" — took on immediate resonance.

Panelists on the Davie delegation emphasized the emotional toll on Buncombe staff: one Buncombe staff member had lost 11 family members in the disaster, and other staff described survivor guilt and exhaustion. The Davie team said they remain in contact with Buncombe colleagues and are coordinating limited ongoing support (for example, sponsoring a teacher and child for Thanksgiving/Christmas assistance through a local church).

The board heard the presentation as an informational update; no board action or vote was required. Board members and the administration praised the Davie staff for volunteering and described the mutual‑aid deployment as an example of district‑to‑district support during a large disaster.