Caring Causes: Salvation Army/Hurricane Ida

 Hurricane Ida made landfall on Sunday, August 29, and has left behind immense challenges. The death toll is continuing to rise, millions of Americans are still without power, and a shortage of food and water has left multitudes in need of immediate assistance. In response to this disaster, The Salvation Army is on the front lines addressing needs now.

The Salvation Army is expanding their massive operation to meet immediate need through feeding, sheltering, emotional and spiritual care, and other services for Hurricane Ida survivors and first responders as widespread power outages and flooding affect the area. Trained emergency response teams are already on the ground in Louisiana, providing meals, water, supplies and care, with additional canteens, supplies and volunteers on the way.

“Large parts of Louisiana have been left devastated by the hurricane,” said Emergency Disaster Services Director for The Salvation Army’s Southern Territory, Jeff Jellets. “Many are experiencing compounding issues. It is crucial for The Salvation Army to continue our operation of providing relief to as many people as possible. We encourage all Americans to donate what they can to support response efforts so we can continue to provide assistance.”

As of noon Wednesday, The Salvation Army had deployed 38 mobile feeding units to serve the cities of New Orleans, Albany, Baton Rouge, Hammond, Houma, Thibodaux, LaPlace, Napoleonville, and Raceland. Each of these mobile units have the ability to serve as many as 1,500 meals a day and, thus far, have served 13,000 meals, snacks and beverages. The 132 trained disaster workers deployed to Louisiana have provided nearly 3,300 hours of service.

Minnesotans and North Dakotans have witnessed local Salvation Army disaster response services during events like last year’s civil unrest, the Drake Hotel fire in Minneapolis, flooding in the Red River Valley, and the I-35W bridge collapse. The Salvation Army North Division is currently working with their national headquarters to determine if local teams may need to deploy in Louisiana in the coming weeks.

Ways in which people can support the Hurricane Ida relief effort are:

• Visit give.helpsalvationarmy.org
• Call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769)
• Text GIVE to 52000 to donate $10 automatically through your cell phone bill

Video and photo assets and other resources can be accessed here.

  

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The Salvation Army Northern Division annually helps 450,000 people overcome poverty, addiction and economic hardship through a range of social services, meeting human needs without discrimination. By providing food for the hungry, emergency relief for disaster survivors, rehabilitation for those suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and clothing and shelter for people in need, The Salvation Army Northern Division is #DoingTheMostGood at 67 operation centers in Minnesota and North Dakota. For more information about The Salvation Army Northern Division, please visit SalvationArmyNorth.org.