Nurses Helping Nurses: Inside a Healing Outreach After the Hurricane
Podcast Episode
In nursing, we often talk about showing up for our patients, our coworkers, and our units. But sometimes, showing up means stepping far beyond the walls of a hospital and into communities that are hurting.
In November 2025, a group of 12 nurses from across the United States traveled to Asheville, North Carolina, for a relief outreach trip organized by two nurse-led nonprofit organizations: Rekindled Nurse and Debriefing the Front Lines. I had the honor of volunteering alongside these nurses, and what I witnessed was a powerful reminder of who nurses are and what we’re capable of when we lead with heart.
This blog accompanies a Nurse.org podcast episode featuring the founders behind this outreach: Courtney of Rekindled Nurse and Tara of Debriefing the Front Lines. Together, they created an experience rooted in service, compassion, and trauma-informed care, for both the community and the nurses serving it.
When asked why emotional processing and debriefing are so important for nurses, especially after a crisis or trauma, Tara explains that it requires a multifaceted approach. “Without this designated space, nurses and healthcare workers suffer emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Debriefing is a communication tool and an intervention to address trauma. It’s a way to discharge energy. As we know, nursing is an exchange of energy. What’s given out must be replenished.”
Meet the Nurse Leaders Behind the Outreach
Courtney is a nurse who saw firsthand how burnout, disconnection, and loss of purpose can impact those in the profession. Rekindled Nurse was created to help nurses reconnect with their “why” through community, service, and meaningful experiences. The organization supports nurses through local peer groups, monthly workshops, yearly conferences serving over 200 nurses, unit groups, and special meal deliveries. At its core, the organization reminds nurses that healing can happen when we come together and serve with intention. Courtney shares, “I want to meet nurses where they are at and let them know they are never alone.”
Tara founded Debriefing the Front Lines after recognizing a critical gap in emotional support for nurses, especially after crisis, trauma, or high-stress experiences. Her organization focuses on creating safe spaces for nurses to process what they’ve been through, because unprocessed trauma doesn’t disappear; it follows us. As a pediatric burn survivor, she also experienced cumulative trauma during her first nursing role in the burn unit. Tara wants nurses to know that “alone is no longer enough.”
While their missions are distinct, Courtney and Tara share a common belief: nurses deserve support, and they are uniquely equipped to support others.
How the Asheville Relief Outreach Came to Be
The Asheville outreach was born out of heart, collaboration, listening, and a clear understanding of community needs. Courtney and Tara recognized that disaster relief and recovery require more than supplies; they require presence, empathy, and people who know how to care in complex, emotionally charged environments.
After Tara experienced the aftermath of the November 2024 hurricanes in Florida (Milton and Helene), Courtney saw her friend in need and felt a pull to respond. Within 24 hours, plans were set and a team gathered to support nurses and healthcare workers affected by the disaster. The damage and hurt seen in the Asheville community were astronomical for a region that rarely sees hurricane destruction. Even a year later, there is still damage and pieces to pick up.
This outreach was intentionally nurse-led, trauma-informed, and community-centered. Nurses were brought together not just to serve, but to be supported as well. Planning involved coordinating logistics, identifying community needs, and ensuring that volunteers had the tools, both practical and emotional, to show up fully.
On the Ground in Asheville: Nurses in Action
Once we arrived in Asheville, everything became very real very quickly. For me, one of the most powerful parts was witnessing how quickly nurses from all over the country became a team, supporting the community and each other without hesitation. The needs were visible, but so was the resilience of the community.
Throughout the trip, nurses stepped into roles that felt both familiar and expanded, offering care, listening to stories, supporting one another, and responding with adaptability and compassion. Moments of service were paired with moments of reflection, allowing nurses to process what they were witnessing in real time.
What stood out most was how quickly strangers became a team. Nurses from different backgrounds, specialties, and states showed up for the community and for each other without hesitation. In those moments, the strength of the nursing profession was undeniable.
What This Trip Revealed About Nurses
This outreach reinforced something many nurses already know: nursing is not limited to a job description. Courtney shared, “The heart that these nurses have for others was astounding to me. Using their gifts, talents, and individual makeup was beautiful. These nurses had so much to give. They weren’t just falling in line or checking a box; they dove in headfirst. They wanted to be there. There was so much courage and strength.”
Nurses are leaders. We are organizers, advocates, and problem-solvers. We bring calm to chaos, structure to uncertainty, and humanity to moments that feel overwhelming.
Nurse-led nonprofits like Rekindled Nurse and Debriefing the Front Lines demonstrate what’s possible when nurses take the lead, creating care models that are responsive, empathetic, and deeply informed by lived experience.
The nurses on this trip were able to serve multiple community-based centers in Asheville, NC, supporting 416 healthcare workers in the emergency room, public health department, two behavioral health centers, and school nurses who were deployed to shelters post-hurricane. It was important for this outreach trip to focus on the broader community and not just hospitals.
How Nurses Can Get Involved
For nurses reading this who feel a pull to serve but don’t know where to start, you’re not alone. Getting involved doesn’t always mean traveling or volunteering on the ground.
Sharing is caring. Courtney stated that “awareness building is huge for grassroots nonprofits.” Nurses can support nurse-led organizations by donating products or funds, sharing their work on and off social media, participating in virtual offerings, or simply starting conversations about the importance of nurse mental health and community care.
Tara expressed, “We all have so much to give inside our hearts. Lean into what you are uniquely gifted at. As we lean in, it’s so innate to give back, support, and uplift. Remove the blinders for a moment and see your people. Small gestures go a long way.”
Rekindled Nurse and Debriefing the Front Lines both offer opportunities for nurses to engage in ways that align with their capacity, because meaningful impact doesn’t require burning yourself out.
Learn more and stay connected with Rekindled Nurse and Debriefing the Front Lines on Instagram.🫶
Beyond the Bedside
The Asheville relief outreach was a reminder that nursing doesn’t end when a shift does. It shows up wherever people need care, in communities, in recovery, and in moments of rebuilding.
I’m deeply grateful to Courtney, Tara, and every nurse who volunteered their time, energy, and heart on this trip. Their leadership reflects the best of this profession.
To hear more about this experience and the stories behind it, listen to the full Nurse.org podcast episode featuring Courtney and Tara.
Because when nurses lead, communities heal.
🤔Nurses, how have you seen community care make a difference, either for you or for others? Share your thoughts in the discussion forum below!
