The Salvation Army of Northern New England has deployed Capt. Tyler Adcox, a trained emergency disaster services officer and pastor from the Bath-Brunswick Corps, to assist in disaster recovery efforts in Georgia.
Katie Perrett, Emergency Disaster Services director for the Northern New England Division of The Salvation Army, said Adcox will be going to Georgia to serve as an emotional and spiritual care specialist for first responders and residents, working to help people affected by the devastation.
This is Adcox’s first deployment, and his training covers incident management, mobile unit operations, food service, basic first aid, and emotional and spiritual care.
“I felt the Lord led me to serve,” Adcox said. “I hope to bring comfort and compassion to those individuals and families suffering from this disaster.”
Hurricane Helene’s destructive path has affected approximately six states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Given the widespread damage, the Salvation Army in southern states has reached out for support from other parts of the country.
“We also send teams to go down to help support feeding operations,” Perrett said. “We have various mobile feeding units out there providing hot meals, snacks and hydration.”
Since Hurricane Helene struck Florida last week, an extensive network of highly trained disaster professionals and volunteers has been on the ground serving communities across the southern United States.
As states across the American South continue to battle with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, The Salvation Army has mobilized its national Emergency Disaster Services network to provide mass feeding, sheltering, clean-up support, personal hygiene kits, and emotional and spiritual care to survivors and first responders.
“Between Salvation Army officers, trained employees of the Salvation Army, and trained and vetted EDS volunteers of the Salvation Army, they just want to cover as much ground as possible, so they are just looking for some additional support,” Perrett said.
The Salvation Army Disaster Services of the Northern New England Division serves Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Its members are equipped with mobile feeding canteens, food services, toiletry kits, cleanup kits, blankets and infant care kits.
The Salvation Army strives to be a beacon of hope and relief for affected communities. To make a financial gift to support Hurricane Helene relief, you can donate online through the Salvation Army’s website. The Salvation Army is not accepting in-kind donations due to the significant shipping costs. More information can be accessed by visiting disaster.salvationarmyusa.org.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
We invite you to add your comments. We encourage a thoughtful exchange of ideas and information on this website. By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs. You can modify your screen name here.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday as well as limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.