DALLAS The Salvation Army continues to provide widespread support in multiple states impacted by Hurricane Helene, while Florida responds to the aftereffects of Hurricane Milton. Lt. Jacobs Gilliam from The Salvation Army of Midland/Odessa has been deployed to support the ongoing relief efforts.
Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm, taking the lives of more than 200 individuals and leaving a trail of destruction across Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia. One of the largest hurricanes ever recorded, Helene had a diameter of some 600 miles wide, severely impacting multiple states. The Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) team of The Salvation Army is coordinating a multi-state response to the unique needs of each community impacted and currently has 68 disaster response units, and hundreds of disaster-trained personnel serving in the hardest-hit areas across six states.
Lt. Gilliam received orders earlier this week to deploy as part of The Salvation Army’s massive response effort. “I receive the call to travel and serve in Sarasota, Florida, with The Salvation Army’s disaster team already working around the clock to help those impacted by the hurricanes. Having been trained and involved in disaster service in the past, I know the days are going to be long and tiring, but we will make an enormous difference in the lives of those experiencing crisis right now,” Gilliam said in a news release. “The Salvation Army focuses on providing meals and hydration from our mobile kitchens, along with emotional and spiritual care after a disaster. Handing a storm survivor their first hot meal in days and letting them know that God loves them can be the encouragement and sustenance they need ahead of the many challenges they are facing. We are the hands of Jesus in that moment, and I am privileged to serve.”
According to the release, a total of 17 staff and volunteers from The Salvation Army in Texas will be serving in affected areas. Seven will be serving in the Ashville, North Carolina area, while an Incident Management Team (IMT) consisting of an additional ten staff, including Lt. Gilliam, will be leading anticipated response efforts in Sarasota, Florida, after Hurricane Milton. A second Texas IMT has just returned home after a 14-day deployment in Live Oak, Florida, serving those impacted by Hurricane Helene. An additional disaster response team from Midland is on standby.
“The Salvation Army’s structure allows us to move personnel and equipment quickly, even across state lines or to the other side of the country, to serve in times of disaster,” Captain Robert Coriston with The Salvation Army in Midland/Odessa said in the release. “We saw it here in Texas during the massive response effort in Houston after Hurricane Harvey. Right now, there are almost 70 Salvation Army mobile kitchens and crews working in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and West Virginia. The Salvation Army already has a presence in many places we are serving, and we’ll be there to help until we’re no longer needed.”
As of Oct. 8 The Salvation Army had served 205,072 meals, 121,299 drinks, 69,917 snacks and have made 11,132 emotional and spiritual care contacts.
To make a donation or for more information on The Salvation Army’s current disaster response efforts including specific feeding locations and current service statistics, go to www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org
