Pictures of my life this week, left to right: My ruined studio. 20 years of work inside. My current bathroom setup, seen at night by my headlamp: left side flushing water from the creek, right side the tub full of water that my family is living from. The view from my studio building towards the Swannanoa River. One of thousands of glorious community uplift moment, this one a neighbor with power who has set up a coffee station/charging station for neighbors.
I'm safe. No water, power or internet. Studio totaled.
Beloved member of the Sunlight Tax community,
Here's a life update, from the middle of a 500-year flood.
Hurricane Helene hit Asheville last week, the day after we got 8-10 inches of rain. Extensive does not describe the damage. It's epic.
The French Broad and the Swannannoa rivers rose over 30 feet. Entire neighborhoods are gone. Infrastructure ruined. The water main broke, and may take many weeks to fix. We are living without water, power or internet.
In my house, we're camping indoors. We are safe. My kids' schools are closed indefinitely.
You might be asking, "what's next?"
We are thinking; "where can I use the bathroom?"
"When will I get to shower again?"
"Do we have enough water to survive?"
"Will there be enough gas to evacuate, and what will we do with our chickens?"
We are in survival mode right now. Next steps mode has not yet begun.
My studio is totaled. I lost my life's work. While this is a personal tragedy, I am lucky that Sunlight Tax remains functional, and I can still earn a living.
***And while it feels wrong to talk about sales or money right now, I do in fact need to keep earning a living for my family to be ok, and to have the space to offer the support that I am capable of to my community--
FEMA grant info
SBA loan info
IRS disaster relief info.
I will make all of those resources free and available on my Instagram. And your support of my work at this time will enable that to happen. I was in the middle of a launch as this disaster hit, and my pre-scheduled emails have been going out. Use those links! They work! If you have considered joining Money Bootcamp, know that
the program is lifetime access,
the materials are immediately available to you upon purchase
I will give a free 1:1 consult to everyone who joins during this acute phase of the disaster.
If you join, or if you are already part of Money Bootcamp, I ask for your patience on live events and 1:1s while I am without power and internet. But I pledge to you that I will serve you well and with gratitude as soon as I can safely feed and water my family again.
Here is the link to join.
If you want to hire me to give a tax workshop, my assistant Mark can get you scheduled, and again, I am grateful for that. Just hit reply***
If you want to help the people here, use any of those links above or donate to the links at the bottom of this page.
I am also collecting funds for mutual aid, which I am distributing to friends in need. That QR code is at the bottom of this email. To those of you who already donated - THANK YOU. Mark is keeping a list, so I can thank you later. I have already disbursed that money, and will keep doing so as I have internet. The need will not end, so donations continue to be welcome.
The community here is devastated. But I am also getting to witness a world where neighbors come out and ask each other how they are, and what they can offer, and gather together on lawns to listen to the 10am and 4pm radio updates. Where no one is looking at a phone screen, and everyone wants to check in. Where a neighbor with electricity offers you to charge up and eat something hot. Where the restaurants cook up all their perishable food and give it away in impromptu gatherings. This is a frightening place to be right now. I will not lie to you, I am scared.
But even so, there is beauty in it.
I am deeply grateful to all of you. Hug your loved ones tight. Enjoy a warm shower.
And for real, if you get a storm warning, fill your bathtub, get non-perishable groceries, find your flashlights and batteries, buy yourself a battery-operated radio, fill up your gas tank, and charge all your devices. Even if you feel silly doing it.
Warmly,
Hannah
My Paypal mutual aid fund. 100% of donations will be given to people I know and love and who need it:
