Volunteer heroes at Family Assistance Center to disband, relocate

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — After a long week of rescues, toilet flushes and care package deliveries, the Family Assistance Center is moving out of the Buncombe County Register of Deeds office.

According to Drew Reisinger, the Register of Deeds for Buncombe County, the decision did not come from a lack of enthusiasm.

“We didn’t wanna disband,” Reisinger said. “We had a really incredible team of 2,600 volunteers that came in through those doors.”

Instead, Reisinger said, the volunteer group was moving on because it had accomplished its primary objective. The Family Assistance Center was formed to help families in the community reunite.

“That was our main goal,” Reisinger said. “Trying to find people’s loved ones.”

According to a Facebook post Reisinger made, the Family Assistance Center team was able to check on and administer care for over 13 thousand Buncombe County residents as of Sunday, Oct. 6.

With that massive goal accomplished, Reisinger felt comfortable picking up the regular reins of work at the Register of Deeds office. The Family Assistance Center and its host of volunteers will be readministered to new volunteer opportunities.

“If people want to go flush toilets,” for instance, “they can at BeLoved Asheville between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.,” Reisinger said.

BeLoved Asheville is a community non-profit located at 32 Old Charlotte Hwy.

Other volunteers will split into a medical team. Some will continue their work with United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County. Whatever they do, or if new volunteers decide to get involved, Reisinger suggested playing to your strengths and starting in your own backyard.

“They need to figure out what niche they want to fill,” Reisinger explained. “If they want to check on elderly people, they should start with their own neighbors.”

To Reisinger, now that the Buncombe County residents have been found, the next steps are to get important community institutions back up and running: Pharmacies, Mountain Mobility and, of course, water.

Even though Reisinger reported that 4,413 toilets have been flushed so far, there is more out there to do. Fortunately for Asheville, there are volunteers excited to do it.