SPOKANE, Wash. — People across the nation are helping the survivors of Hurricane Helene, including those here in the Inland Northwest.
Hurricane Helene is now the deadliest hurricane to hit the United States mainland since Katrina in 2005.
Laurie Lilliott of Deckle Beach, Florida was one of the many people whose home was destroyed by the hurricane last week.
“We’ve worked our whole lives. We’re so close to where they say the golden years. It’s like you can see the light and then it all goes dark,” she said.
Now, she joins those beginning the long processing of rebuilding their lives from scratch.
Volunteers from across the country, including members of the American Red Cross, are helping these victims get through this tough time.
Even those in the Inland Northwest are doing what they can to help.
“This is going to be a long, drawn out event unfortunately,” said Glen Lockwood, who has been with the Red Cross for 50 years. “The people in some of these communities have just… there is no community anymore.”
Even though this tragedy is thousands of miles away, Lockwood and Red Cross volunteers in Spokane are extending a helping hand.
“The Red Cross couldn’t do what we do without volunteers. Clearly and distinctly. It’s that critical of a role that we play,” Lockwood said.
Volunteers can fulfill this role at their Spokane office on Washington and Nora or join a team that deploys from Spokane to the areas in need of rebuilding.
As the crisis continues, there’s a good chance that trucks will be loaded up with supplies and driven by volunteers to areas affected most by Hurricane Helene.
Chuck Boehme, red cross volunteer in North Carolina
“I drove a Red Cross emergency vehicle twice from Spokane to the east coast for Hurricane Sandy and some of the other hurricanes,” said Chuck Boehme, a Red Cross Volunteer currently in North Carolina.
Boehme is volunteering at a mass shelter. He and his wife Janet are just some of the 1,400 Red Cross volunteers who have traveled to Helene’s disaster area.
“You have to be flexible when you come to these kind of things because not everything is going to go just perfectly. because everybody had lots of different needs,” Boehme said.
The Red Cross’s needs remain the same from disaster to disaster. Besides time, financial donations and blood drives are what keeps the organization running during times like these.
If you plan to donate money, several federal agencies are warning about disaster relief scams. Scammers will create fake websites pretending to be charities or people impacted by the hurricane.
To find out more information about the American Red Cross, click here.
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