As residents affected by Sunday’s storm continue to pick up the pieces, the American Red Cross of Meridian is offering assistance.
“In Lauderdale County, we just recently started our one-on-one case work. We’ll also be doing that in those areas in Hattiesburg,” said Community Volunteer Leader Pamela Bass.
Assistance includes distributing bulk items.
“Water supplies, the snacks, the clean-up kits, the tarps, those type items. Those will be continued until they’re no longer needed,” said Bass.
It also includes helping families find shelter.
“We have shelters set up in those affected areas, and they will continue to be there until those people have been placed either back in their home, or put in temporary housing,” said Bass.
If you or someone you know needs help, the Red Cross says assistance is just a phone call away.
“They can call the 1-800 Red Cross number. That’s the easiest and fastest way to get in contact with us,” said Bass.
If you wish to support the local Red Cross, the organization is asking for financial donations instead of food and clothing items.
“We cannot serve anything that has not been prepared in a state-inspected kitchen to our clients, so the food is not going to be something that we can use. We’re now getting into the more one-on-one expensive case work, in addition to any financial assistance that’s needed. The Red Cross has operations going on around the country, in Georgia especially, where the killer swamps went through. A lot of people have been displaced from their homes. For these operations to continue, we got to have financial support,” said Bass.
The American Red Cross of Meridian is asking that no donations be made to the local office due to its current transition. Donations can be made by calling 1-800-Red-Cross, by visiting the web, or by mailing them to the Hattiesburg and Gulfport offices.
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