The Salvation Army deploys disaster workers to serve hurricane survivors in Florida
The Salvation Army Northern Division has deployed two seasoned disaster workers to Florida to serve as part of a hurricane emergency response team, working to provide relief to those affected by hurricane Helene, as well as to support first responders and rescue workers there. Donate now.
Deployed were Dorothy Maples (pictured right), the Twin Cities Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services director, and Lt. Amanda Hines (pictured below), the administrator for The Salvation Army service center in Maplewood. They departed yesterday to serve as part of a response team coordinating relief efforts in Live Oak, Fla., in an area devastated by the hurricane.
Maples and Hines will both be serving as part of an operations team in north Florida, focused on providing emotional and spiritual care (ESC) to survivors, families, first responders, and rescue workers. Their work is critical in helping those affected to process and cope with what they have been through, whether they are storm survivors or relief workers dealing with the trauma they're encountering.
The national Salvation Army disaster response currently involves eight separate command teams working in the affected areas in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. This expanded operation is intended to help meet immediate needs through feeding, sheltering, and emotional and spiritual care for survivors and first responders, as widespread power outages and flooding continue to impact vast areas of the southeast United States.
The Salvation Army has already moved many dozens of mobile feeding vehicles into the affected areas, each capable of providing up to 1,500 hot meals per day.
Jeff Jellets, Territorial Disaster Coordinator for The Salvation Army Southern Territory, spoke about the magnitude of Helene’s impact: “This hurricane was more than 500 miles across and had an impact on eight states within our territory. In my more than 20 years of disaster experience, I can’t think of a time when such a large area was at risk, or when The Salvation Army could be called on to support so many people.”
It is widely expected that the emergency response to the hurricane will last several months, and fresh teams will be deployed to relieve existing teams.
There are two ways in which people can offer financial support for The Salvation Army's hurricane Helene relief effort:
- Visit give.helpsalvationarmy.org
- Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769)
One hundred percent of donations will go to support hurricane Helene relief.