• Philip Burn

Local Volunteers Supporting Salvation Army Service in Houston One Week After Hurricane Beryl

Dallas, Texas (July 16, 2024) – One week after Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas, The Salvation Army continues to serve communities in and around Houston. Trained staff and volunteers have spent the last week, working long days in intense heat and humidity, to deliver food, drinks, cleanup kits, and emotional and spiritual care to individuals and families impacted by the storm.

 

Sixteen Salvation Army mobile kitchens and Rapid Response units once again deployed into communities still without power and in desperate need of food. Several teams have partnered with local volunteer groups to help coordinate serving lines, traffic flow, and meal delivery.

 

“Today was my first day of service as an Emotional Spiritual Care (ESC) Officer with the Texas Emergency Disaster Services team in Houston,” said Major Nakisha Carr from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who deployed on Sunday to support Hurricane Beryl response efforts. “Our team arrived at a shopping center ready to serve this morning and were met by a line of cars. The Army has been serving there for the last two days and the community was ready and waiting. Not only did we have people patiently waiting for food, but there was also a group of about 15 local volunteers of all ages prepared to help serve. We delivered more than 450 meals in just a couple of hours and couldn’t have done it without the hard work of these wonderful volunteers.”

 

Five ESC Officers, including Major Carr, are working alongside feeding crews and are available to talk and pray with anyone receiving assistance. “It was good to meet and pray with people today and one of the volunteers stuck with me to translate for Spanish speakers which was super helpful. The people were so happy and grateful for the hot meals and snacks from The Salvation Army,” said Carr. “The residents in that neighborhood have come to rely on and respect The Salvation Army while dealing with no power this week.”

 

As power is slowly restored across the area, community requests for meals are constantly changing and being updated by the Incident Management Team. Meals were delivered to five individual drop-off sites on Monday including Senior Centers, an Assisted Living Facility, and a church.

 

Feeding operations on Tuesday will take place in the following locations:

• City Hall - 6243 Brookside Rd., Pearland 77581 – 1 PM
• Lomax Arena - 1508 Lomax Rd. La Porte, TX 77571
• Forest Vista Mobile Home Park - 600 McCabe Rd., La Porte TX
• Haverstock Hill Apartment - 5619 Aldine Bender Road, Houston 77032
• Baker Ripley East Aldine Campus - 3000 Aldine Mail Route Rd. Houston, TX 77039
• Painted Tree Boutique - 1153 Kingwood Drive, Kingwood TX 77339
• Houston NW Corps - 12507 Windfern Rd, Houston, TX 77064)
• City of Woodbranch Village - 58A Woodbranch Drive, New Caney TX 77357
• Concord Apartment Complex - 6 Burress Street, Houston, TX        
• Serving County Shelters in Conroe
• Houston Area Women’s Center - 2727 El Camino, Houston 77054.
• 7321 Harrisburg Blvd, Houston, TX 77011
• Bucee's - 2304 West Mulberry St., Angleton, TX 77515
• Higher Expectation Church – 702 Atascocita Road, Humble, TX
• Pleasant Hill Village Retirement Center - 3814 Lyons Ave., Houston
• Julia C Hester House - 2020 Solo St, TX 77020
• Pleasantville Senior Center 1922 Pleasantville Dr, Houston, 77029
• Pine Trails 6003 Woodbend Drive, Houston 77049
• Freeport and Lake Jackson roaming

 

The Salvation Army has served 62,073 meals, 55,191 drinks, 9,386 snacks, 2,820 bags of ice, 961 food boxes, and made 9,368 Emotional and Spiritual Care contacts since service began on Tuesday, July 9 in affected communities across Houston and SE Texas.

 

For the latest information please go to www.disaster.salvationarmy.org and watch for regular updates on our social media pages at www.facebook.com/salvationarmytexas/ and www.twitter.com/salarmytx. To make a donation go to www.helpsalvationarmy.org.