In Helene’s and Milton’s Wake, Faith-Based Disaster Relief Groups Prepare for the Long Haul

hurricane relief
Eight Days of Hope volunteers clean out a house damaged by Hurricane Helene in Haywood County, N.C. (Photo courtesy Eight Days of Hope)

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The group’s more than 250 volunteer leaders nationwide specialize in mobilizing large numbers of disaster relief volunteers, working with churches and as well as long-term recovery leaders in local communities.

“We come in and we’re like an adrenaline shot,” said Fletcher. “We do a bunch of work on all the homes as fast as we can, and then eight days later, we’re gone. Then the long-term recovery group kind of carries the rest of those houses to the finish line.”

The Salvation Army, while continuing to respond to Helene, has sent relief workers to Florida to respond to Milton, where it has served nearly 6,000 meals to residents affected by the hurricane so far through 20 mobile feeding units. It has served more than 400,000 meals in communities affected by Helene. The group also plans to assist with long-term recovery.

Todd Unzicker, executive director of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, said that so far, more than 2,000 of its volunteers have been deployed to assist with recovery from Helene, but he is telling churches and volunteers who are ready to help right now that there is plenty of work ahead.

“The challenge is saying, hold on,” he said. “We are going to need you a month from now and six months from now.”

He worries that, with an upcoming election, people will move on. That’s something he hopes to counter — and believes that churches in the state will remain on the job for the long term. That’s something they’ve done when past hurricanes hit the state.

Unzicker said that, of the convention’s 3,000 churches, 1,100 are in communities affected by Helene.

He also said that Baptist disaster relief is working closely with state, local and federal officials in the aftermath of the storm. Those leaders are doing all they can, said Unzicker.

“North Carolina Baptists are grateful for all of our government officials,” he said. “We pray for them and we’re ready to stand by and work with them.”

Frank, the pastor at Asheville’s Biltmore Church, has been encouraged by the way people in his congregation and others have responded to Helene, noting that the church’s 828Strong ministry began as a way to respond to needs during COVID-19 and that the work has continued since.

“Unlike COVID, which kind of tore people apart, this has brought people together,” he said. “The church has stepped up, both our church as well as other churches.”

This article originally appeared here

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Bob Smietanahttps://factsandtrends.net
Bob Smietana is an award-winning religion reporter and editor who has spent two decades producing breaking news, data journalism, investigative reporting, profiles and features for magazines, newspapers, trade publications and websites. Most notably, he has served as a senior writer for Facts & Trends, senior editor of Christianity Today, religion writer at The Tennessean, correspondent for RNS and contributor to OnFaith, USA Today and The Washington Post.

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