Charities working to speed recovery after damage from Hurricane Helene in SE Georgia

COFFEE COUNTY, Ga. — Aid workers and volunteers from the metro Atlanta area are working to provide relief and help with recovery in the wake of Hurricane Helene’s damage to Georgia.

They’re trying to figure out basics like how to get fresh food to families impacted by the storm, especially in hard-hit areas like Coffee County and the City of Douglas.

Channel 2′s Linda Stouffer spoke to workers and helpers who are showing they are Southeast Strong in middle and southeast Georgia, because in some neighborhoods, it still looks like the hurricane was last week.

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Letacia Avila, the Executive Director of Catholic Charities of South Georgia, said the damage even weeks after the storm was shocking.

“It’s even now, a month after the storm. I would say about three-quarters of the homes were tarped, lots of tree damage,” Avila said.

Aid workers and volunteers from the metro area, such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Catholic Charities of South Georgia, are setting up a recovery center at the St. Paul Catholic Church in Coffee County.

“It takes your breath away,” Brian Burgess, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, said about the damage.

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Some of their efforts include sharing hygiene kits and critical immediate help, like providing gift cards and access to food assistance.

“Ironically, the people’s hearts, you know, are still joyful. I don’t know how they’re able to do it, but they were so grateful, you know, [that] we visited them,” Avila said.

One family, who still doesn’t have electricity, was given a grill so they can cook for their children.

“We cannot forget about rural Georgia,” Avila said. “Many of the people that we’re meeting, you know, they work in agriculture. These are the people who grow the food that you and I eat,” adding that we can’t forget about them and the assistance needed to move forward.

Burgess said that the fact people care, and having someone to tell the stories of those impacted by the storm, is a good thing.

Catholic Charities of South Georgia says they are in the recovery effort for the long haul and will remain in the community to keep connecting people with the help they need.

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