So much of the human spirit in Appalachia centers on community. For hundreds of years we have supported one another during good times and bad. And in 2024, there was plenty of bad.

Our world was turned upside down in September when Tropical Storm Helene caused such unimaginable loss of life and destruction. Even now, nearly three months after the flood waters subsided, we are left with so many questions. How should we rebuild? Will there be more frequent, more intense storms in our future? How can we help those who lost so much?

As a photographer accompanying Asheville Watchdog’s reporters in chronicling Helene’s aftermath, I have seen folks at their best and worst. I’ve witnessed enormous resilience, tenacity and sense of community as fellow residents cope with the loss of loved ones, their homes, their businesses.

Truth be told, those strengths were on display all year, as our region dealt with serious issues, ranging from the federal sanctions against Mission Hospital to a presidential election like none in modern history.

As the year ends, I am sharing a collection of Watchdog images I captured in 2024 that I believe highlight the challenges we’ve faced and our hopes for the future. Some capture the biggest news events of the year and others portray the subjects of the stories our reporters produced.

They include Missy Harris, a former Mission Hospital chaplain who described working under HCA management as a staggering “moral injury”; a woman known as Patient No. 12, whose delay in treatment at the hospital was chronicled by federal investigators; and DeWayne Barton, whose historically Black community is in the crosshairs of the Interstate 26 Connector project.

Light and composition drove many of my choices, such as a photo I took of PEAK Academy Executive Director Kidada Wynn, whose school faced a federal civil rights complaint that John Boyle chronicled in January.

Another image features Compass Point resident Norma Peeler, who figured prominently in a column John wrote about the first year of that permanent supportive housing facility. I chose one photo because it was both whimsical and illustrative of a serious demographic challenge our area faces. And one image, which accompanied a story looking at Buncombe’s recycling challenges, stands as a sobering reminder of just how much waste we generate.

This collection illustrates the tapestry of our community, the year none of us will forget and the commitment The Watchdog has to bringing you stories that matter.

Photographer Starr Sariego’s photos have been featured in exhibitions in Asheville and across the country. Contact her at ssariego@avlwatchdog.org. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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