Hurricane Helene Response

 

This page will be updated as new information is received.

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​FEMA

Disaster Assistance -  www.DisasterAssistance.gov or 800-621-3362.

For TTY call 800-462-7585. Those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS) can call 800-621-3362.

Persons with a smartphone can download the FEMA app at https://www.fema.gov/mobile-app and register.

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Insurance Claim and Recovery Help: Rental, Home, Business

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ALABAMA

The Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA) is assessing the impact from Hurricane Helene for Alabama. Thank you for your interest in volunteering to assist those affected by state disasters. Assistance will be needed for years to come to fully recover from all types of disasters. We are asking volunteers to never SELF-DEPLOY, as unexpectedly showing up to any of the communities that have been impacted by a disaster will create an additional burden for first responders. Connect with an existing voluntary organization before going to a disaster area.  

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​​For information about donating or volunteering please visit the links below.  

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DONATION AND VOLUNTEERS

If you are interested in helping, please visit the links below. You can also follow these groups on their social media for updates.

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• Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief: Seeking volunteers. Training available. 

• American Red Cross: www.redcross.org

• Church of the Highlands

• JustServe: Listing of organizations in the affected states (FL. GA, NC, SC, TN) who are providing relief to those affected by the disaster.  

• Minuteman Disaster Response: Seeking volunteers. Training available.

• Salvation Army: www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org

• Team Rubicon: Seeking volunteers. Training available.

 

 

Florida

• Donate or Volunteer: www.volunteerflorida.org

• Florida Disaster Fund: https://www.volunteerflorida.org/donatefdf/

 

Georgia

• Individual Volunteer Survey: Individuals wishing to volunteer in recovery efforts: https://forms.office.com/g/wu90BNWPhh

• Donations Survey: For organizations and agencies that are interested in providing in-kind donations: https://forms.office.com/g/fih30v8WGV 

• Partnerships Update - https://forms.office.com/g/UHu4h0dStD 

• Feeding Survey - https://forms.office.com/g/PVpLaG6D8d  

 

North Carolina

• North Carolina VOAD

• North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund

• United Way of North Carolina

• Visit ReadyNC.org for state information

 

South Carolina

• Volunteer or Donate: https://scemd.org/recover/volunteer-and-donate/

 

Tennessee

• Volunteer, Donation and Resources: https://www.tn.gov/tema/updates/hurricane-helene

• Northeast Tennessee Disaster Relief Center - Bristol Motor Speedway - A major donation and collection site

• Volunteer Tennessee: Volunteer Registration

• Call 1-800-TBI-FIND – to report a missing person in affected areas

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Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) members and partners are assisting communities in need. They will serve these communities as long as necessary. For a list of organizations involved in disaster response in the affected areas, visit their websites.  Visit the social media sites of disaster relief organizations for more information.

• Alabama - Alabama VOAD (alvoad.org)

• Florida - FLVOAD (wpengine.com)

• Georgia - Georgia VOAD (gavoad.org) 

• North Carolina - North Carolina Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (ncvoad.org)

• South Carolina - SCemd.org/recover/volunteer-and-donate/

• Tennessee - Tennessee VOAD (tnvoad.org)

 

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CRISIS CLEANUP

This is a website tool volunteer organizations use to find disaster survivors who need help with property cleanup after disasters. Survivors call the hotline, a volunteer takes the call and enters the information on the website. All requests show up on a map on the website. Volunteer organizations doing property cleanup use the map to find, claim, and close cases. This reduces duplication of effort and vastly improves volunteers’ efficiency and time.

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​Phone Volunteers are Needed

Volunteers needed to take calls for the Crisis Cleanup disaster hotline (www.crisiscleanup.org).

An organization wishing to provide phone volunteers assigns a point-of-contact (POC) to oversee their phone volunteers. The organization registers for an account and send email invitations through the website to volunteers within their organization to set up individual user accounts. These volunteers watch training videos and can then take calls for the Crisis Cleanup hotline.

 

Relief and Volunteer Organizations

Relief and Volunteer organizations who are responding, may request access by logging into crisiscleanup.org and clicking "Request Redeploy" on the Dashboard. If your organization plans to help for the first time with muck outs, chainsaw work, tarping, etc., you may click the "Register" button on the login page.

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Home Clean Up Hotline: If you need assistance with damage call 844-965-1386. You will be connected to volunteers from local relief organizations, community groups and faith communities who may be able to assist. Services include Muck Out, Chainsaw work, Tarping and Debris Removal. Services are free, but not guaranteed due to overwhelming need. 

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CRISIS CLEANUP VOLUNTEER CONTACT: GINA NEWBY – 406-461-2388 – gina@crisiscleanup.org

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2-1-1

2-1-1 is free and easy to remember. Call for information about health and human service organizations in your community. Are you facing difficult times and don’t know where to turn? Are you looking for help with everyday needs? Do you want to volunteer? By dialing 2-1-1, information is much easier to find. Dial 2-1-1 or text or call 1-888-421-1266 from anywhere in Alabama, or visit   http://www.211connectsalabama.org/. ​If you are an organization providing resources, please call 2-1-1 or call 1-888-421-1266.

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​​​Disaster Distress Helpline: Call or Text 1-800-985-5990    DisasterDistress.samhsa.gov

Español: Llama o envía un mensaje de texto 1-800-985-5990 presiona “2”

 

For Deaf and Hard of Hearing ASL Callers: To connect directly to an agent in American Sign Language, click ASL Now or call 1-800-985-5990 from your videophone. ASL Support is available 24/7.

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Text. Don’t Call. Texting leaves lines open for emergencies. 

 

Locating Loved Ones. Family and friends are encouraged to check social network sites for information about your loved ones. American Red Cross is helping find loved ones through their helpline 1-800-RED-CROSS or complete this form online: https://rdcrss.org/3TQPblL.  If someone is missing a child related to this disaster or any other incident, they need to call 9-1-1 and then 1-800-THE-LOST to receive assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

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DONATE

The Governor's Emergency Relief Fund (GERF)

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DISASTER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

 

If you are already affiliated with a response organization, please contact them directly. They will let you know when conditions are safe and when they will begin deploying volunteers. 

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Not affiliated with a response organization? You can pre-register to volunteer for Hurricane Helene:   https://forms.office.com/g/vZPiSa6pTR, call 334-242-1549 or email info@servelabama.gov.​  For additional volunteer opportunities visit https://serveal.galaxydigital.com/. 

 

We will keep you updated on volunteer opportunities and let you know when response organizations are accepting additional volunteers.

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IMPORTANT: Volunteers must affiliate with an organization. Under no circumstances should a volunteer self-deploy to an affected area! Unaffiliated, self-deployed volunteers can create additional burdens on affected communities and can pull resources away from survivors.

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KEEPING VOLUNTEERS SAFE AND HEALTHY

Preparedness for Volunteers and Volunteer Organizations: If you are feeling sick, or displaying any symptoms of illness, please stay home. We love our volunteers, but we need you to be healthy and operating at 100% to make that happen. Our first priority is to keep all volunteers and their families’ safe. 

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