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Salvation Army assisting individual families this week
The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services team in the Northwest Division has worked in Oso and surrounding areas including Arlington and Darrington that were impacted by the March 22 mudslide in Snohomish County, Wash.
This week the Army is assisting each family as specifically needed. Individuals and families can visit the Joint Resource Centers in Arlington and Darrington, where they meet with The Salvation Army and other agencies that are designated to provide specific aid. Some families lost everything and so the Army is providing emergency financial assistance so they can begin to rebuild their lives, including temporary housing, household items, food, clothing, medical care, and transportation.
Other families are impacted indirectly, and need support in other ways. For example, with the closure of highway 530, commute time from Darrington to Everett and Seattle increased significantly (100 and 125 miles, respectively). The Salvation Army is providing fuel vouchers for people who need to make the trip. For individuals who have missed days of work, grocery vouchers and rent or utility assistance is available.
The Salvation Army will be at the Joint Resource Centers daily, continuing to assess the needs of each family, and helping them rebuild as needed.
For those interested in helping these efforts, the most critical need right now is for monetary donations. Donate online or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY and designate the gift for “Oso Mudslide Relief.”
Cash donations allow disaster responders to immediately meet the specific needs of disaster survivors without incurring many of the costs associated with sorting, packing, transporting and distributing donated goods. Salvation Army disaster services are funded entirely by donors, and The Salvation Army uses 100 percent of all disaster donations in support of disaster relief operations.
