American Red Cross sends 1,900 workers to aid Hurricane Helene victims

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – The American Red Cross had hundreds of disaster workers helping to provide assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Micheal Bridges, owner of Mud Brothers Masonry, said that he has been helping his community in Mauldin recover from after Helene.

“It’s truly devastating people have lost their homes, cars, people have not been able to go to work, I have seen some people not being able to come out of their driveways,” Bridges said.

It has been over a week since Helene left a trail of devastation and destruction across the upstate and western North Carolina, but the cleanup and recovery efforts in the region are far from over.

Bridges said he has been working nonstop since the storm.

“We have been working every day since the storm passed. Sometimes it has been 10-to-14-hour days,” Bridges added. “We are pulling trees off of houses, off of cars, off of structures, off of buildings my phone has been going crazy.”

The American Red Cross told 7NEWS there are more than 1,900 Red Cross responders on the ground, providing support to the thousands of families forced out of their homes.

“In just the eight days since the storm, we served over 220,000 meals and snacks,” Spokesperson Todd James said. “We had over 30,000 overnight stays in our shelters and we are one of many organizations that are working together to provide the relief that this area needs.”

The Red Cross is proving shelter, food, water and emotional support to those impacted.

“It is around-the-clock effort to make sure that help is being provided and we are going to make sure we are going to be here for the long haul,” James added. “This is not going to be something that is going to be a few days or weeks; this is going to be months or years and we are going to be here every step of the way.”

The Red Cross said their reunification teams are also working around the clock to help reconnect families. More than 9,000 requests were made in the last few days of people wanting to contact their loved ones.

The Red Cross has several shelters set up in the areas impacted by Helene. The organization said the shelters can provide resources including hot meals, water, charging stations for phones and emotional support, even if you do not need an overnight stay.

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