Oct 4, 2004 By Jenny Susa 6 min read

Local public service organizations are trying to provide families here and across the nation with much needed assistance since recent storms have caused severe damage in some areas. Jill Berardi, director of marketing for the American Red Cross in Washington, Fayette, and Greene counties, said that her chapter has been helping with flood victims in this area, as well as those who saw the devastation of the hurricanes in the southern states. She said the American Red Cross works nationally to help people with the greatest needs after any type of disaster.

Red Cross communication coordinator Tami Marsico explained that their chapter is based in Pittsburgh, from where food and water are sent to the greater Pittsburgh area as well as Fayette, Washington and Greene counties. She said that so far, in those three counties, 18,340 meals and snacks have been delivered, in addition to 1,901 cleanup kits.

“We’re reaching out to all the local communities and this will be an ongoing thing,” said Marsico, adding that they are also meeting one on one with families who need financial assistance.

She said it was difficult to keep up with local needs at first because a lot of their volunteers were deployed to Florida and other southern states.

“We are doing much better now because we have all of our emergency response vehicles available,” said Marsico.

In terms of donations, Marsico said that what they need most are volunteers.

“People who are out working become physically exhausted,” said Marsico. “There are so many opportunities for people to volunteer. They can go out and assess damage but we also have a lot of in-house work that they can do. The opportunities available really run the whole gamut depending on what people are interested in doing.”

She said that although they could use more long-term commitments, volunteers are needed on a daily basis as well. Anyone interested can call 1-888-217-9599.

Capt. Valerie Hazeldine of the Washington County Salvation Army said they have also been able to help local families from donations they have received, but they still need a lot of help.

“We’ve been providing immediate needs such as clothing, food, and cleaning supplies,” said Hazeldine. “In some cases we’ve provided the families with vouchers so that they can get whatever they need on their own.”

She said that their gymnasium has been filled with donations of clothing and at their chapter, located at 60 E. Main St. in Washington, applications are available for people who have bigger needs.

“We’re not sure yet what we can do in that area, but the applications are available for the people to let us know what they need,” said Hazeldine.

She said on Oct 5 and 6 they will hold a rummage sale to help those in need as well.

“We have this vast amount of clothing that was donated and we’re having the rummage sale for anyone who could use them,” explained Hazeldine. “The proceeds will be used to help the families who had damage to their homes from flooding.”

She pointed out that the need for assistance is great in some areas.

“We have families who have lost everything,” said Hazeldine. “For some people, their whole lives were destroyed.”

Hazeldine said that any donations of personal or household items are appreciated, but monetary donations are “most useful because they can be tailored to specific needs.” She said donations can be dropped off or mailed to the Salvation Army. For more information, call 724-225-5740.

Washington County Public Safety Director Jeff Yates said that anyone who sustained flood damage can call FEMA at 1-800-621-3362 to find out about any assistance that may be available. He also said the county needs volunteers from any local organization who would like to assist with cleanup throughout the county. Anyone who needs assistance or wants to volunteer should call 724-228-6911. He also announced that there is a Disaster Recovery Center opening at the former National Record Mart at the Washington Mall, Oak Springs Road, South Strabane. Beginning last Tuesday, the center is open from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. seven days a week until further notice. Before visiting the center, flood victims should call FEMA first.

In Greene County, Salvation Army Capt. Steven Magill said that while the immediate needs of flood victims have been met, they still need the ongoing support of the community to help families get their lives back in order.

“Immediately after the flood, we went out and got people to safety,” said Magill. “We were able to serve meals to over 360 people and provide cleaning kits. Now we’re just trying to find out what people’s individual needs are.”

Magill said they are finding out that there are a wide variety of needs in the area. He gave one example of a resident’s wellhead building that was demolished in the storm.

“We have to help rebuild that to protect the water supply,” explained Magill. “So the needs really vary in this area from people who need food and temporary shelter to people who need new appliances. We expect this process to continue for the next few weeks.”

Magill said there was community outreach during their major time of need, but now they need the community’s help to build their resources back up.

“The big things that we needed, the community has taken care of,” said Magill. “But the flooding has depleted our normal social services and we have to replenish that at this point.”

Magill said they are asking people who want to contribute to help out financially because they don’t know yet exactly what needs there are to be met. Donations can be sent to 131 W. First St. in Waynesburg.

Capt. Jennifer Miller of the Salvation Army in Fayette County commented that because the county was not affected by severe flooding, they were able to assist other areas that were.

“We did hand out a lot of emergency vouchers to people who lost a lot because of the power outages,” said Miller. “But we donated more to the greater Pittsburgh area because there was a greater need there.”

Miller said that the Salvation Army in that area has given to the chapter in Fayette County during their times of need, and this was their chance to return the favor.

“The flood didn’t hurt us as much as other areas,” said Miller. “We were fortunate and we’re doing OK.”