The Impacts of Hurricane Helene on Queer Communities in Appalachia

Our community-based participatory research partnership sought to explore the impacts of Hurricane Helene on Appalachian queer communities.

In December 2024, our partnership conducted interviews with community-based peer navigators (N = 9) who were part of the trial of the Appalachian Access Project intervention designed to support use of prevention and care services among queer persons in Appalachia. Interviews examined effects of Helene on peer navigators and their communities and were analyzed by partnership members using constant comparison, an approach to developing grounded theory.

Four meta-themes and ten subthemes emerged: 1) queer community resilience (mutual aid and grassroots organizing, unity across identities, and renewed commitments to community support and advocacy); 2) increased challenges accessing resources for queer communities (infrastructure damage, communication barriers and misinformation, and disruption of essential and affirming health services); 3) mental health impacts for queer communities (trauma, anxiety, and uncertainty and the role of social networks); and 4) vulnerabilities for queer communities in hurricane recovery (economic hardship and systemic inequities in recovery resource access).

Findings can inform policy and practice to address the effects of Helene and future disasters on marginalized communities. Integrating Appalachian queer community needs and assets into emergency preparedness and response is critical.