Sanctuary Stories

September 2025

Dear Taylor,

Last year, as Hurricane Helene barreled toward Asheville and the surrounding mountains, Marc told me he had an intuitive feeling that the storm’s impact would be immense. I could feel in my heart that he was right.

From my home in Berlin, Germany, I asked myself: what could I possibly do? I chose to lean into the wisdom I’d received from The Missed Path Sanctuary over the two years prior and choose who I wanted to be in the face of it.

Yes, I felt worry and despair...And, I also knew my friends there were powerful and resilient people. So, I stayed present with each piece of news that arrived. And when the storm passed...the extent of the damage came into focus...I asked myself: what would truly serve? The answer my intuition gave me was simple...raise awareness and funding for the beacon of hope that the Sanctuary had become.

And so, nearly a year later, here I am...supporting this newsletter and helping get the word out about what the Sanctuary is, and how people everywhere can join in...financially and otherwise.

This month, we honor all that was lost, all who were lost, and all that we are building anew. I strongly encourage you to donate to our Build Back Fund, linked just below...underneath Marc’s gripping reflections on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene.

Wherever you are in the world, I hope the story of the Missed Path Sanctuary and its ability to embrace the mess in the wake of disaster reminds you that light always finds a way through.

May it give you hope to keep shining yours, no matter how much it seems like darkness is winning.

Warmly,

Taylor Coburn

Missed Path Sanctuary Awareness

This past year has tested every ounce of our grit, our creativity, and our faith in community…When the storm came, it did more than tear through the land, it tore through lives, businesses, and the fragile stability of our mountain home…Over 250 thousand dollars worth of erosion damage compromised our bridge (the only way onto our property) our driveway, and our main paddock…The storm took our hay, the horses’ primary food source, and left us staring at devastated land and an uncertain future…

Government help never came…We turned instead to each other and to the Civilian Disaster Response Organization, who stepped in with donated hay so we could keep our horses fed…That partnership became a lifeline, not just for us, but for neighbors and farmers worse off than we were…Together we served a battered Asheville community that went fifty-four days without water…

Rising to Meet the Need

Missed Path Sanctuary opened its gates as a place for hot meals, showers, laundry, and, most importantly, connection…People came for horses and left with hope…We worked with World Central Kitchen to bring food into the hardest hit neighborhoods…Yvonne and the CDRO team took supplies into mountain heights so remote, that residents, surrounded by over a million fallen trees, didn’t see outside help for six weeks or more…Farmers lost livestock, stables, coops, fencing, and feed…Many washed their surviving animals in contaminated water, only to watch illness take more…A year later, these rebuilding efforts continue under the weight of broken promises and exhausted resources…

Personal Loss Amid Disaster

While the city slowly healed, our private world was crumbling…The storm, the stress of its aftermath, suicide and old age claimed the lives of dear friends…We said goodbye to Arnie, our loyal dog of 15 and a half years, and Xena, our sweet young cat who’d barely had three years with us…They left us within three days of each other, at the end of a summer already stretched thin by disaster fatigue…Living in a disaster zone for a full year changes you…It tests the edges of your endurance…

Asheville’s Uneven Recovery

Asheville is looking better on the surface…But of the ten million cubic yards of debris, SIX MILLION yards of debris remain…Entire towns were washed down to bedrock…Rivers and creeks look like bomb sites…Businesses are boarded up…Tourism is half of what it was…Donations, once a steady stream, have slowed to a trickle…For the sanctuary and for many of our neighbors, the math simply doesn’t work…And yet…this is our home…Appalachian strong isn’t a slogan, it’s a commitment…

Leaning In, Not Back

We refused to shrink…We shifted from emergency outreach to wellness programs, sound baths, yoga, art, all in the calming presence of horses…We launched wellness visitations so people could find peace here…We’re building a reading program pairing kids with mini horses, and we’re working toward bringing those minis into nursing homes to celebrate birthdays with cake, flowers, and soft muzzles…

These are the things that heal…The small, profound connections between animals and people…To expand them, to make our land safe again, and to keep this sanctuary alive for both animals and humans, we will need our community’s continued partnership…

We’re still here…We’re still leaning in…And with the same tenacity that carried us through a year of loss, we’ll keep building Missed Path Sanctuary into a place of refuge and renewal…for the horses, for our neighbors, and for every soul who finds hope here…

Come See Us at the 2025 Asap Farm Tour at The Ruby Ranch!

We will have a table the whole weekend on September 20th and September 21st. Check out The Ruby Ranch Facebook page to learn about what they have planned over both days! We've heard there will be slushies!

Visit Our Table at the Blue Ridge Pride Festival on Septmber 27th

We’re thrilled to have a booth at Blue Ridge Pride…For us, showing up here isn’t about waving a banner, it’s about living our commitment to serve…Farmers, Children, Neurodivergent, Elderly, LGBTQ+ communities that don’t always cross paths, but all matter deeply to us…Missed Path Sanctuary isn’t afraid to stand in those spaces and build real connection in the name of service…

The Incubation and Flock Restroral Project is a joint effort with the Civilian Disaster Response team to rebuild flocks after disaster losses. By collecting eggs, incubating them, and placing healthy chicks with families and farms in need, we’re restoring hope and resilience where it’s been shaken.
Heartfelt thanks to Madelon Taff from Fairy Ridge Farm for donating eggs and an incubator, Donna Sharpe for her egg donation, and Carol Duermit for her incubator contribution. And special appreciation to Yvonne Coburn, whose leadership keeps the program running and ensures these chicks reach the people who need them most.

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