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Hurricane Helene_September 2024.jfif
Hurricane Helene Response

 

This page will be updated as new information is received.

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.

Insurance Claim and Recovery Help: Rental, Home, Business

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. The Governor’s Office of Volunteer Services is 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.

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.

 

Florida

 

Georgia

 

North Carolina

  • Donate or Volunteer: NCvoad.org

  • North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund - nc.gov/donate

  • Visit ReadyNC.org for state information

 

South Carolina

 

Tennessee

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.

 

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CRISIS CLEANUP

Home Clean Up Hotline: If you need assistance with damage from Hurricane Helene, 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. 

 

PHONE VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED

There is a need for volunteers to take calls for the Crisis Cleanup disaster hotline (www.crisiscleanup.org). Crisis Cleanup is the website tool that volunteer organizations use to find disaster survivors needing 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.

 

An organization wishing to provide phone volunteers assigns a point-of-contact (POC) to oversee their phone volunteers. The organization registers for an account with Crisis Cleanup. They send email invitations through the Crisis Cleanup 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.

 

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

RELIEF AND VOLUNTEER ORGANZATIONS

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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2-1-1

2-1-1 is a free, easy to remember number to dial 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.

DONATE

The Governor's Emergency Relief Fund (GERF)

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) VOAD is a coalition of non-profit and faith-based, public and public and private organizations and agencies that respond to disasters by bringing all available resources together to assist those impacted by disasters. VAODS provide a forum promoting cooperation, communication, coordination and collaboration that fosters a more effective delivery of services to disaster affected communities. 

National VOAD

Alabama Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (ALVOAD)

Support those who help survivors and respond to disasters. Consider one of the following ALVOAD member agencies:

Adventist Community Services 

Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief

Alabama Food Bank Association

Baldwin County VOAD

Calhoun County VOAD

Church of the Highlands

City Action Partnership

Civil Air Patrol Alabama Wing

Coffee County ROCC/VOAD

Compassion Coalition of Tuscaloosa County

Convoy of Hope

Covington County VOAD

Cullman County VOAD

Elmore County VOAD

Etowah County VOAD

Family Guidance Center of Alabama

Friendship Mission 

Good Shepherd UMC

HandsOn River Region

Hope Animal Assisted Crisis Response

Houston County VOAD

Jefferson/Shelby County VOAD

Legal Services of Alabama

Madison County VOAD

Marshall County Commission

Mennonite Disaster Service

Mobile County VOAD

Morgan County VOAD

North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church

Operation BBQ Relief

Operation Blessing International

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

Reach Out Worldwide

Salvation Army

Samaritan’s Purse

Southeastern Synod

St. Vincent dePaul

The Alabama-West Florida Conference United Methodist Church

Tuscaloosa VOAD

United Way of Baldwin County

United Way of Central Alabama

United Way of East Central Alabama/1st Call for Help

United Way of Madison County

United Way of Northwest Alabama

United Way of Selma & Dallas County

United Way of Southwest Alabama

United Way of West Alabama

United Ways of Alabama

Walker County VOAD

World Renew

FOR VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS
Volunteer Toolbox: Resources for non-profits utilizing volunteers in times of disaster.
Volunteer Hours Tracking: Please see link below to download form to track volunteer hours.
Helpful tips for Donating 
  • Cash is best! –This allows relief organizations to purchase exactly what items are needed to assist in the response and recovery efforts. Funds will also provide direct victim assistance.
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  • Confirm the Need Before Collecting – Donors should be wary of anyone who claims that “everything is needed.” Many groups have been disappointed that their efforts and the goods they collected were not appreciated. A community hit by disaster, however, does not have the time, manpower or money to sort and dispose of unneeded donations. Get precise information and confirm the need before collecting any donated goods. 
Helpful tips for Volunteering
  • Call 2-1-1 to register to volunteer.
 
  • Affiliate with existing non-profit organizations before coming to the disaster area. Immediately following a disaster, a community can become easily overwhelmed by the amount of generous people who want to help. Contacting and affiliating with an established organization will help to ensure that you are appropriately trained to respond in the most effective way.
 
  • Be safe: Do not self-deploy until a need has been identified and the local community impacted has requested support. Wait until it is safe to travel to volunteer sites and opportunities have been identified. Once assigned a position, make sure you have been given an assignment and are wearing proper safety gear for the task.
 
  • Be patient: Recovery lasts a lot longer than the media attention. There will be volunteer needs for many months, often years, after the disaster - especially when the community enters the long-term recovery period.
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