Shoresides

In the last 10 years, disasters like Matthew, Florence, and now COVID-19 have changed the fabric of Columbus County, North Carolina and its community. Wallyce Todd and Gerry Lenahan work at Community CPR , a nonprofit focused on disaster relief in the city of Whiteville - its county's seat. They talk about how their county is faring through the pandemic, while still working to support hurrica...

This is an important message from the New Hanover Disaster Coalition: There is free testing for COVID-19 in New Hanover County.  All you have to do is call  910-798-6800 to talk with a nurse to setup an appointment.  That is 910-798-6800 to set up a free COVID-19 test in New Hanover County.   Send us Fan Mail Support the show www.shoresides.org 

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 March – thinking construction would continue and she'd be living in a fully repaired home soon. Then, COVID-19 came. Construction on h...

Jacqueline Hand has been repairing her home in 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 on further hold. Send us Fan Mail Support the show www.shoresid...

Kelly Spivey speaks about how she has seen the food insecurity conversation change during  COVID-19. Kelly's Community Pantry started to take the shame out of asking for help with groceries. The pantry is a public, unmanned neighborhood food cupboard providing free canned and boxed items. Now Spivey acts as a community organizer around food issues in her tight-knit town. Broadcast from the Wo...

The mayor of Atlantic Beach, Trace Cooper, is preparing for a summer unlike he’s ever seen before. Cooper speaks to how the pandemic could disrupt – or boost – his small beach town's tourism economy. Cooper describes COVID-19 as a "one-two punch" for a coastal town still recovering from Hurricane Florence.  Broadcast from the Shoresides' studio, this series compiles community s...

Chris Lamoreaux is a grocery store cashier in Morehead City, NC. Lamoreaux lives with his mother, who has an autoimmune disease. After work, Lamoreaux now self-quarantines in his bedroom. The national PPE shortage means that no gloves are available to Lamoreaux for handling customer cash at his register.  Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, this series compiles community stories about CO...

A fast food manager in coastal North Carolina discusses how her team has put their health and safety at risk during the coronavirus pandemic - to serve milkshakes and french fries. She says her team feels unsafe and scared, and their concerns aren't being taken seriously.  Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, this series compiles community stories about COVID-19 from coastal North Ca...

Jeff Mills, 72, talks about how the coronavirus pandemic compares with the HIV/AIDS outbreak in the 1980's and his life experiences as an activist. Mills has lived in Wilmington, North Carolina with his partner since 2013. Before moving to the southeastern U.S., Mills spent over fourty years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He's a living example of crucial moments in our history: he protes...

Le'Shawna Brunson-Smith says the stimulus bill won't be much of a help making up for the incoming she's losing during the coronavirus.  Brunson-Smith is the owner of Ladies Hair Design on Castle Street in Wilmington, North Carolina. Since Governor Cooper ordered the shut-down of hair salons, she's been out of work. To make up for lost income, she's exhausting every avenue...

Rebecca is normally a grade school teacher second, but with schools closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, she's delivering groceries for Instacart.  Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, this series compiles community stories about COVID-19 from coastal North Carolina.  Send us Fan Mail Support the show www.shoresides.org 

Diana Tootle, 58, lives in Morehead City, North Carolina. Tootle speaks to the intersection between Hurricane Florence and COVID-19 in her historically African American coastal community.  Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, this series compiles community stories about COVID-19 from coastal North Carolina. Send us Fan Mail Support the show www.shoresides.org 

Michael Turner, 42, is a math teacher at West Carteret High School in Morehead City, North Carolina - a rural, coastal town of 9,000 people. He runs the food pantry which supplements free & reduced lunch with take-home groceries. Now his job is  to find and fulfill the gaps or 'soft spots’ in school food delivery during COVID-19.  Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, this series...

Yasmine is a single mother living in coastal North Carolina. Since her restaurant closed, she's been out of work - but she's making the most of her time with her daughter. She reflects on how her day-to-day has and will continue to change in lieu of the COVID-19 pandemic. She's changing up her routine at home and keeping busy. And she's thinking about how this pandemic will con...

James (Jim) Wall is 75 and currently in quarantine with his step-grandchildren. Wall is a retired attorney and disabled veteran who lives in Wilmington, North Carolina. He suffers from a heart condition and diabetes, and needless to say - he's part of the population most vulnerable to coronavirus. Still, he's staying positive, taking precautions, and making the most of the down time with...

Melvin Dunn, 41, is a shrimper in Beaufort, North Carolina. Dunn lost a shrimp season with Hurricane Dorian last September and now faces further impacts from COVID-19 on the seafood industry. Dunn is from the South River – a predominantly black coastal community in Beaufort, NC. With increasingly intense hurricanes affecting his catch, Dunn decided to transition to a seafood truck delivery service...

Denny Best discusses how his work with the film industry in Wilmington, North Carolina is impacted by coronavirus. Best does trade work in the film industry in and is a member of The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States. He discusses how his livelihood and the industry itself are impacted by coronavirus. Br...

David at the Intergroup office in Wilmington, North Carolina describes how COVID-19 is affecting Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in the area. David explains how the coronavirus is impacting participants of Alcoholics Anonymous and how it may continue to affect groups and meetings in the near future. He talks about how the virus is different from natural disasters like hurricanes, which AA groups in...

Bonnie Weeks, 36, is a labor and delivery nurse working at Carteret General Hospital in Morehead City, North Carolina, which is currently on semi-lockdown due to Coronavirus. Weeks has lived in Morehead City - a rural, coastal town of 9,000 people - all of her life. Most folks that come into the hospital work on the water or are in the military. Weeks speaks to how Coronavirus is affecting the loc...

Emmanuel (Manny) Ngardinga (Gar-din-ga) is stressed about the changes to his school schedule as a result of coronavirus. Ngardinga is a student at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, North Carolina. Last week, he learned he will be taking his classes online for the rest of the semester.  Broadcast from the Shoresides' studio, this series compiles community stories about COVID-19 from c...

Chris Lamoreaux speaks to toilet paper mayhem and other patterns happening in this small-town grocery store during the coronavirus pandemic. Lamoreaux, 47, is a cashier at the local Food Lion in Morehead City, North Carolina. Morehead is a small, coastal town that has seen and prepared for deadly hurricane seasons – but nothing like this.  Gloves and masks are on, toilet paper is mysteriously scar...

Marsha Corbett discusses what's going on in her head during the first news of coronavirus in North Carolina. She talks about how she's dealing with stress - both financial and emotional - and how the virus is changing the way she does business. Send us Fan Mail Support the show www.shoresides.org