BOSTON – Massachusetts neighbors, longtime volunteers with the Salvation Army, are among the many helpers already in position to respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Milton .
“They come up and they say ‘when we saw your trucks pulling in, we knew the Salvation Army was here!'” Pam Houghton said.
Pam Houghton from Newburyport and Cindy Kennedy from Athol have been with the organization for more than 30 years. First to Florida for Hurricane Helene , they’re now on standby in Georgia, so they can quickly go to where they’re needed most.
“You saw the increase in the devastation heading this way. There’s a lot of areas still without any electricity,” said Kennedy. “There’s trees down on their houses. They’ve lost pretty much everything. Major damage.”
Every Salvation Army team that goes out to serve includes an emotional and spiritual care provider. They support the survivors, but also their own helpers as this back-to-back relief work over hours, days and weeks can take a toll.