It might help pay utility deposits, transportation expenses or other costs associated with starting again somewhere else.
Most importantly, families were given flexibility.
The assistance was not built around the assumption that every household needed exactly the same thing.
One family might desperately need housing.
Another might need transportation.
Another might need to replace household necessities.
Cash assistance allowed survivors themselves to decide where the money was most urgently needed.
That approach later became an important part of the University of Tennessee's evaluation of the program.
A Simple Idea With a Complicated Mission
The basic concept sounded simple: give families money.
Putting that idea into practice on a large scale was much more complicated.
Organizers had to determine who qualified, establish distribution systems, communicate with displaced residents and manage enormous amounts of public support.
The Dollywood Foundation already had experience operating charitable programs. It is perhaps best known for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which began in Sevier County and grew into an international book-gifting program for young children.
But the My People Fund represented a different type of emergency response.
This time, families needed immediate financial help.
Donations began arriving from across the country and beyond.
Parton's celebrity helped draw enormous attention to the disaster, while individuals, businesses and organizations contributed to the relief effort.
In December 2016, Parton also organized a telethon, "Smoky Mountains Rise: A Benefit for the My People Fund," bringing together performers and supporters to raise additional money.
The response allowed the fund to continue supporting hundreds of households.
Roughly 900 families ultimately participated in the program.
Every month, qualifying households could receive their $1,000 payment.
For many recipients, the predictability mattered almost as much as the amount.
Disaster recovery does not happen in a week.
Even when insurance or government assistance is available, rebuilding a home can take months or longer.
A family might find temporary accommodation immediately but still face continuing expenses while waiting for repairs, insurance settlements or permanent housing.
The My People Fund was designed around that reality.
Instead of one payment followed by silence, families knew that another payment was coming the following month.
And then another.
Five $1,000 Payments
Over the first five months of distributions, participating households received $1,000 each month.
That brought the total to $5,000 per family.
For someone unaffected by disaster, $1,000 might be viewed simply as extra income.
For a family that has suddenly lost its home, however, the same amount can represent something very different.
It can mean another month of rent.
It can mean replacing necessities without adding to credit-card debt.
It can mean keeping a vehicle running so someone can continue going to work.
It can mean giving parents a little more breathing room while they navigate insurance claims and housing decisions.
Researchers at the University of Tennessee later examined the My People Fund as an example of unconditional cash assistance after a disaster.
Their evaluation found that recipients reported meaningful financial benefits.
According to the university's final report, following the monthly cash distributions, participants were able to return toward the level of financial stability they reported before the wildfire and improve their ability to save money for hypothetical future emergencies.
That finding matters because the psychological and financial consequences of losing a home do not disappear when the flames are extinguished.
Recovery can continue for years.
The University of Tennessee researchers also noted that wildfire disasters can have lasting effects on anxiety, depression and a person's sense of control.
Money cannot replace a home filled with memories.
It cannot recover irreplaceable photographs or personal objects.
But reducing immediate financial pressure can remove one major source of stress while families begin reconstructing their lives.
Then Came the Final Distribution
By the time the sixth and final distribution approached, participating families knew what the program had promised.
They had been receiving $1,000 each month.
Naturally, they expected the final payment to be another $1,000.