Resources For Resilience invites community members to plan ahead with practical, easy-to-use skills that support wellbeing throughout the year.
January is often framed as a fresh start and “new beginning” but for most people, stress and overwhelm don’t magically disappear with a new calendar year. With the holidays there is often brings a complicated mix of reflection, experiences of loss, evolving family dynamics, and heightened expectations for the year ahead.
For many across Western North Carolina, this season also carries the ongoing emotional and physical impacts of Hurricane Helene — effects that remain present long after the storm itself.
As individuals, families and workplaces across Western North Carolina look for ways to reset and prioritize mental health in the new year, Resources For Resilience is emerging as a practical and accessible resource for healing from trauma, building emotional resilience, and managing stress.
RFR offers simple, evidence-based tools to help people of all ages regulate their emotions, respond effectively to stress, and build healthier habits over time – without the need for traditional therapy, specialized training or complicated programs. This practices can be used by anyone, anywhere in the moments they need them most. With practice and repetition, this is how we strengthening resilience and hope over time.
Reminder: Healing doesn’t have to be complex, overwhelming or expensive – and it isn’t about perfection. Small, positive experiences practiced consistently can move people from survival mode into their Resilient Zone.
As we enter a new year, Resources for Resilience is inviting community members across Western North Carolina to plan ahead by learning practical ways to manage stress, reset during difficult moments, and stay connected — skills that can be used again and again throughout everyday life.
“The end of the year can surface both hope and heaviness,” said Ann DuPre Rogers, Executive Director of Resources for Resilience. “Many people are carrying more than usual, including everyday pressures to the lasting effects of Hurricane Helene. This work is about acknowledging that reality and offering practical ways to steady ourselves and move forward, together.”
Planning Now for a More Supported Year
Reconnect for Resilience focuses on simple, research-based practices that help people calm their minds and bodies during stress, recognize when they’re becoming overwhelmed, and respond in healthier ways. These are concrete skills participants can use at work, at home, alone, or with others.
“People often see the start of a new year as the right time to focus on physical health,” Rogers said. “But our bodies are strongest when we care for them consistently, not just once a year. Mental wellbeing works the same way. It’s not something to wait on until you’re overwhelmed. It’s something you invest in regularly, so you have skills you can draw on any day, anywhere.”
Resources for Resilience offers trainings and events open to anyone looking for healthier ways to manage stress, with particular relevance for educators, healthcare workers, caregivers, and first responders.
Their work is grounded in the belief that resilience grows through connection and shared learning. In Western North Carolina, that belief has taken on deeper meaning as communities continue to recover from Hurricane Helene while supporting one another through long-term challenges.
“Recovery doesn’t happen all at once,” Rogers said. “It happens in small, steady moments through care, connection, and having the right support when stress shows up.”
In 2025, Resources For Resilience connected with more than 5,800 people across the 25 Helene-impacted counties with this programming, and they’re hoping to double that number by June.
Upcoming Opportunities to Learn & Connect
Supported by nearly $3 million from state agencies and nonprofit partners, Resources For Resilience is expanding its trauma‑informed resiliency programs ensuring access for anyone helping Western North Carolina stay safe, healthy, and connected.
Thanks to their generous funders and partners, RFR is offering hundreds of no-cost trainings, workshops, and community events focused on stress regulation and resilience-building for all ages.
This support is particularly beneficial for first responders, health providers, essential workers, and other WNC residents impacted by the trauma of Helene. The funding for these FREE events will end in June and space is limited, so community members are encouraged to register soon to secure their spot.
*Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for select events through Area L AHEC.
Resources For Resilience will also continue their series of FREE recurring virtual events for WNC residents impacted by Helene:
- EVERY WEDNESDAY | 12-1 pm: Weekly Virtual Community Listening Circles: Practice Tools to Reset the Nervous System
- EVERY THURSDAY | 12-1 pm: Weekly ‘Reconnecting Through Hard Times’ Training: Learn Tools to Help Others De-stress*
- FIRST FRIDAYS OF THE MONTH | 12-1 pm: Monthly ‘Reconnect for Better Days’ Training: Learn Tools to Help Yourself De-stress
Looking for a program near you? Check out our county-by-county event listings:
- Buncombe County
- Burke County
- Caldwell County
- Catawba County
- Haywood County
- Henderson County
- Madison County
- McDowell County
- Rutherford County
- Transylvania County
- Watauga County
- Wilkes County
- Yancey County
To view the full calendar of events and to register, visit resourcesforresilience.org/events.
About Us
Resources For Resilience is a Western North Carolina–based nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals, organizations, and communities navigate stress and build resilience. Through accessible trainings, workshops, and community partnerships, Resources for Resilience shares practical, research-informed skills that support wellbeing, connection, and long-term community health. Our work is rooted in the belief that resilience grows through shared learning, care, and connection, especially during times of ongoing challenge.
Resources For Resilience’s no-cost trauma‑informed trainings are supported by nearly $3 million in partner funding. Our educational and community-building programming has already reached more than 5,000 WNC residents across the 25 counties affected by Hurricane Helene, and we hope to double that number by June. Thank you for supporting this work!