While many aspects of current American society may appear to look unified, times of crises tend to bring out the unification and integrity in many people. In wake of Hurricane Harvey striking many areas of the South, several people and homes are displaced and destroyed. The seriousness of this traumatic event have left thousands of people with the uncertainty of the future, even the next few days. While many people in different areas around the United States are lucky enough to never experience the seriousness of a natural disaster, there are many areas around the country that are susceptible to certain weather conditions. Though there are aides that outside sources can do to help suffering citizens, often times the aid will not even begin to cover the numerous damages and people who have lost everything.
While it’s difficult to turn on the news without seeing new statistics, numbers, and real footage of the catastrophe, often people think there is nothing they can do to help when the damage is occurring on opposite sides of the country. Contrary to this, there are many things you can do from your city to supply some kind of aid to victims.
Not only did prior weather conditions cause damage, but damage is still continuing as weather conditions continue striking. In matters like this, a little can go a long way and the more people willing to help provide can help significantly.
If you are wondering what you can do to help, here is a short list:
Donate Blood!
In a recent post from Blood and Tissue Center in Texas, over 2,000 units of blood is necessary to aid residents. Specifically, right now the largest need for blood comes from donors who are O positive and O negative, but all types are encouraged.
Donate Money!
As inevitable this request is, it is also the easiest! No, no one is asking you to start forking out hundreds of dollars, but anything you can do can go a long way! As a full time college student, I understand that giving out money can sometimes not be the easiest ask, but imagine if everyone gave a few dollars! A few of the more well known sites seeking money to aid victims are: Catholic Charities USA, The American Red Cross, GlobalGiving, The Salvation Army, and Save the Children.
Check out Food Banks!
In light of the storm and number of shelters that are being used for displaced citizens, a number of food banks around the country plan to help out the victims by sending supplies to the victims who were forced to evacuate their homes and move to shelter. Right now the supplies are already limited and in the next few weeks they will only begin to get more scarce.
Donate Clothing or Old Toys
For many of the things sitting around your house that aren’t being used, children and Harvey victims could likely put to use! Because of the large amount of people displaced in shelters in the Texas and Louisiana area, hundreds and thousands of people are put in large rooms with multiple families together. With nothing to do, many shelters are looking for donations on activities to keep people busy for the time being.
Check out Local Churches and Children’s Hospitals
In times of need, churches and hospitals around the country tend to come together to help out areas in need. There’s no harm in contacting local charitable organizations in the area to see if there is anything you can do to help or to see if there is anything they are already doing to aid the situation.
Although many people are pursuing help toward the damage, crises brings out character within people, good and bad. Unfortunately to report in this situation, there are many scams and illegitimate sites that are scamming people out of their money, trying to take the donations that people are sending to victims. To read more about this and how to identify scams, read this article CNN posted about the issue.
