"We were trying to identify the needs within our community"

 

While hurricanes most often threaten coastal Georgia from the East or Southeast, Hurricane Helene took a different approach, blowing in across the state from the West.  So although Chatham County knows the life-saving importance of preparing for the torrents and storm surges of hurricanes and of evacuating ahead of the storms if need be, we had to think a bit differently for this storm.  There was no clear path of evacuation, and really there was not the huge threat of water – certainly not like Tropical Storm Debby.  There was, however, wind, and a lot of it.  Winds that took down trees and telephone poles and communications towers. 

So while Chatham County residents did not necessarily need to flee their homes, they felt the impact of the storm long after the winds subsided.  They were not without shelter, but they were very much without some of the usual comforts of home.  CEMA’s Community Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator, Chelsea Sawyer, considered what this storm-battered community needed. “We actually went out and did community assessments, we talked to several residents,” she said.  And what she heard was “we need access to hot food, we need access to ice, we need access to a place to charge our devices. I kind of took a step back and said, what can we do instead of shelters? And the concept of a cooling center immediately came to mind.”

 In every district of the county, venues were found that had the space and the power and the willingness to open their doors to the community.  Churches, college campuses, YMCAs all said yes.  Like others, Pastor Jonathan Brown of Lifebridge Inner City Ministry was quick to serve. “The answer was YES, immediately.  And from now on the County has a partner in us.  Anytime!”  It was a done deal for Savannah Technical College, too. “You could come in, get out of the heat, charge your phones. We had Wi Fi, free access. They had access to restrooms and could fill water bottles from our water filtration system. And then we just decided to provide lunch and snacks while they were here.  We didn't say that publicly, but we just did it.  We grilled today, and our culinary department is providing focaccia and soup tomorrow.  Our new president is really big about serving the community.” 

Tara Jennings, Chatham’s director of Government Affairs & Policy, marveled at the outpouring of support from across the community.  “The individual centers are using their own power, their own people, volunteers, whatever they can do . . .  they’re just making it work for us each and every day, and we are grateful for that.” 

Sometimes the question just has to be asked, "what do you need?"  When the answer comes in so clearly, then you can immediately direct all your efforts toward how to meet those specific needs.  Oftentimes shelters are a real need, but sometimes not.  This time it was about providing access to all the things that are really hard to come by in a prolonged power outage.  This time it was about making people’s homes feel more like home while we recovered.

 

“First and foremost, we know that people are going to be without power, potentially for several days.   We actually went out and did community assessments, we talked to several residents . . .most of them said we do need these other things – we need access to hot food, we need access to ice, we need access to a place to charge our devices. I kind of took a step back and said, what can we do instead of shelters? And the concept of a cooling center immediately came to mind.” -- Chelsea Sawyer, CEMA Emergency Management Specialist/Community Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator

 

 

“This was a recovery and a resilience option to help get the community back on their feet.  Understanding that a lot of our residents did not have power, did not have access to charge important things, like their phones, oxygen machines, wheelchairs, and things of that nature.  And then being made aware that they didn’t even have hot meals – trying to be able to fill that need has been an important part.  And the direct outpouring of support from the community and the teamwork within the EOC to make this happen has been amazing.” -- Tara Jennings, Director of Policy & InGovernment Affairs & Policy

 

Read More In This Series : Snapshots of Service

Caring Enough To Call