Tampa, FL (September 27, 2024) – With teams staged and ready for a rapid response, The Salvation Army carefully monitored Hurricane Helene as it made its way through Gulf of Mexico. Once Helene made landfall Thursday evening as the most powerful hurricane ever to strike Florida’s Big Bend region, Salvation Army teams mobilized to roll out early Friday morning and navigate the storm ravaged roads en route to Perry and Live Oak.
The Florida division has an Incident Management team and 14 mobile feeding units, each capable of feeding up to 1500 meals per day, that will offer meal service on Friday afternoon. Another Incident Management team and 5 additional feeding units from Texas are set to arrive Friday night and begin meal service Saturday morning. An additional team is staged for response in Georgia with units across the Southern Territory on standby for what looks to be a marathon response.
Jeff Jellets, Territorial Disaster Coordinator for The Salvation Army Southern Territory spoke Thursday regarding the magnitude of Helene’s projected intensification. “This hurricane is more than 500 miles across and will impact as many as 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 and The Salvation Army could be called to support so many people.”
Many disaster survivors and first responders experience emotional distress after a traumatic event such as a disaster. Along with meal service, trained emotional and spiritual care personnel will be on hand to provide comfort and emotional support for survivors and first responders processing the magnitude of what they have witnessed. Emotional and Spiritual Care workers are also able to answer questions about the disaster recovery process and how to find and receive services.
The Salvation Army remains committed to providing comfort and relief to those affected by Hurricane Helene. With a local presence already established, The Salvation Army will be here to offer support even beyond the initial relief and cleanup and through the recovery process.
Hope Is on the Way. Hope Is Here. Hope Remains.
