Niles man headed to Florida to help Hurricane Helene victims

NILES, Ohio (WKBN) – A Niles man is headed to Florida to help with the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Richard McCullough’s bags are packed and loaded. He’s traveling to Tallahassee, Florida Friday as a volunteer with the American Red Cross.

“What we try to do is ease the pain to everybody on what they’re going through right now,” McCullough said. “I don’t really know what I’m going to get into, but there are different positions once I get down there. Whatever they tell me to do I will help out the best I can.”

This is McCullough’s 12th deployment with the Red Cross. He’s helped out after wildfires, floods and other hurricanes. He says it’s rewarding work.

“I know what they’ve gone through, what they’re going through. And when they come up to us and thank us, we know we made a difference. That’s the most important part,” McCullough said.

McCullough’s been volunteering for about four years. He said when he retired, he realized he needed to do something.

“When I saw some of this on the news for different places, I decided it’s something I want to do and after doing it a couple of times, I realized I really like doing this.”

At this point, McCullough doesn’t know what to expect when he gets to Florida or where he’ll be sent from Tallahassee, but he knows he’ll be there for at least two weeks.

“They’re saying this one is one of the worst ones in a long time, so I think we’re gonna be down there, some of the people or the Red Cross, will probably be down there for a couple of months or more,” he said.

Hurricane Helene left an enormous path of destruction across Florida and the entire southeastern U.S. on Friday, killing at least 40 people in four states, snapping trees like twigs, tearing apart homes and sending rescue crews on desperate missions to save people from floodwaters.

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