INDIANAPOLIS — Several groups across central Indiana are rallying around the victims of Hurricane Helene and trying to get them critical resources and supplies.
While resources have started pouring into parts of Florida over the last few days, several local organizations are gathering items to send to other states impacted by the storm, including North Carolina and Tennessee.
“The regions of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee have just been ravaged,” said East Street Apostolic Church Senior Pastor Daniel Parnell.
Many North Carolina streets now sit underwater and are practically unrecognizable. Homes and buildings in the area have also been ripped apart. Those are some of the reasons why faith leaders like Parnell said they wanted to start gathering anything they can to send to those in need.
“When I saw all the pictures and videos that were starting to come through about the disaster and what they are going through, my heart just felt compelled to try and lead our church in an effort to gather supplies,” he said.
Parnell added that he has family in North Carolina, and so do some of his church members.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people in the community who have family there,” he said. “Some of which, they’re still not in touch with. So, there’s a lot of deep connections between our community and that region of our country.”
The church, which is located at 1909 South East Street in Indianapolis, began collecting donations Monday night and will keep collecting donations every day this week from 5-7 p.m. Parnell said the church will take anything from canned goods to cleaning supplies.
“They’re in real desperate need of baby food, baby formula, feminine hygiene products, things as simple as toothbrushes, toothpaste, general hygiene items, trash bags, anything that you would think of to clean up,” Parnell said.
Other organizations like Gleaners Food Bank are also shipping disaster relief supplies off to Tennessee. Hurricane Helene destroyed the group’s partner food bank in Asheville, North Carolina. Leaders now hope volunteers can push the supplies further into hurricane-damaged areas.
“The problem is getting it from those staging areas actually to the people affected, so that kind of last-mile work, if you will, is the tough part,” said Gleaners Food Bank Chief Operating Officer Joe Slater. “And we got to support those who are on the ground who are best equipped in order to do that.”
Slater said his team will help provide additional support as long as it is needed.
“We’re expecting that there’s going to be a need that continues for some time,” he said. “We’re always taking care of folks at home, first and foremost, but if we can add that strength to others in a time like this, we want to be in position to do that.”
Catholic Charities Indianapolis also indicated people interested in donating to help provide support can also do so online on the organization’s national website.
Indiana Task Force 1, the Indiana National Guard and volunteers with Indianapolis Red Cross have all been deployed to areas impacted by the hurricane.
Previous reporting indicates Indiana Task Force 1 has already completed missions in Florida and Georgia. The 80-person team is now deployed for work in North Carolina.
Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb announced that the Indiana National Guard had been activated on Monday. About a dozen Indiana National Guard airmen with the 181st Intelligence Wing — which is based in Terre Haute — will head to North Carolina to join Indiana Task Force 1 and other agencies currently conducting search and rescue operations.
“Hoosiers stand with our friends in North Carolina as they navigate the devastation caused by this natural disaster,” Holcomb said via press release. “As a force for local and global good, the women and men of the Indiana National Guard are prepared to answer the call, and our prayers are with them and the people of North Carolina.”
Indianapolis Red Cross reported that it is sending two people to North Carolina on Tuesday. They will join about 900 Red Cross disaster workers — including 24 from Indiana — to help provide assistance to communities impacted by Hurricane Helene.
