and medicines for communities affected by Hurricane Helene. Photograph by Andrea Pane/Americares.
With 26 people still unaccounted for and water shortages and power outages continuing – this in North Carolina alone – local organizations remain committed to providing a helping hand to victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton across several states.
Stamford-based Americares has dispatched a mobile clinic to western North Carolina, bringing medical care to communities still reeling from the Helene three weeks later.
The mobile clinic team provides essential medical services, including prescribing medications, blood sugar testing and tetanus vaccinations to protect residents and first responders cleaning up storm debris. A bilingual mental health professional is also on hand to meet with English-speaking and Spanish-speaking patients, provide mental health education and support and make referrals to local providers, as needed.
“We’re bringing medical care to the hardest hit communities,” said Americares Emergency Medical Officer Prabu Selvam, M.D. “We’re going into the most devastated areas, including rural towns that were inaccessible for days after the storm. We are seeing patients in need of treatment for asthma, diabetes, hypertension and skin conditions – some of which are exacerbated by the physical and emotional strain of the disaster.”
The clinic is conducting outreach to eight affected counties, and so far has planned stops at aid distribution sites, meal programs, community centers and public buildings in Rutherford, Buncombe and Avery counties, including hard-hit Swannanoa and Elk Park.
At the same time, Americares is installing water purification systems, which can provide clean drinking water for up to 10,000 people a day, in partnership with Planet Water Foundation. The first AquaBlock emergency water system was installed at the Smith Mill Works in the devastated city of Asheville, North Carolina, in collaboration with volunteers from Be Well AVL. The system serves residents of Smith Mill Works, Deaverview, Echo Hills, Wilshire Park, Lucerne and Lucerne Park. Americares is working with local community organizations to install additional water systems at other locations in and around Asheville.
Americares deployed Emergency Response teams to Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee after Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane on Sept. 26 and headed north, carving a trail of destruction throughout the Southeast. In western North Carolina, Americares has been assisting the relief efforts since Oct. 1, coordinating aid deliveries and meeting with community leaders and health care providers to identify the most urgent health needs. Mental health professionals on the team are conducting outreach throughout the region to provide mental health support to survivors and first responders.
“Helene had a devastating impact on western North Carolina.,” said Americares Disaster Mental Health Specialist Jen Peng. “We are seeing a need to support survivors and overwhelmed staff and volunteers working on the hurricane response and provide culturally sensitive mental health services, particularly in underserved Latino communities. Our team is conducting debrief sessions to provide emotional support and teaching caregivers coping skills they can use throughout the recovery.”
Americares is delivering medicines and relief supplies to partner clinics in affected areas and has offered assistance to more than 360 partner organizations in the path of the storm. To date, Americares has shipped four tons of relief supplies for Hurricane Helene survivors and has awarded more than $400,000 in emergency funding to 15 local organizations providing health services to survivors in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
No sooner did Americares deploy to help states battered by Helene, however, than it was on the ground in Florida following Milton, partnering with 110 clinics to deliver critically needed medicines and relief supplies. The organization was also prepared to provide emergency funding to help repair damaged health facilities and restore health services disrupted by the storm.
It’s all in a day’s work for Americares, which responds to more than 35 natural disasters and humanitarian crises worldwide each year, establishes long-term recovery projects and brings preparedness programs to communities vulnerable to disasters. The organization has a long history of responding to flooding and major storms in the southeastern United States, including Hurricanes Florence, Ian, Idalia and Michael in recent years.
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Meanwhile, TEG Federal Credit Union, serving the Hudson Valley, has announced that it has made a $10,000 corporate donation to CUAid to help support ongoing relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helene. CUAid is a national credit union relief fund to assist credit unions impacted by Hurricane Helene in Tennessee, Georgia and the Carolinas. All of the donations through CUAid go to credit union disaster relief. The funds will help credit unions, their employees, members and volunteers recover from the disaster.
“We are deeply saddened by the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene and are committed to supporting our fellow credit unions as they rebuild and recover,” said President and CEO Ronald Flaherty. “Credit unions help people, especially in times of great need. We hope our donation will assist our fellow credit union communities and their families impacted by the storm cope with the devastating loss caused by Hurricane Helene.”
Founded in 1969, TEG FCU is a full-service financial cooperative for individuals and businesses in the New York counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester. As a member-owned nonprofit, TEG offers a wide range of financial services, including deposit accounts, loans, mortgages and investment/retirement planning. With more than $420 million in assets, TEG serves its 37,500-plus members through a digital banking system and eight branches in Poughkeepsie, Beekman, Hyde Park, Middletown, Newburgh and Wappinger Falls, with its newest branch opening soon in Modena. It is insured by the National Credit Union Administration, an equal housing lender.
In addition to these, local Roman Catholic churches like Sacred Heart in Hartsdale are collecting for Catholic Charities USA Disaster Relief.
