The Salvation Army Alaska Division sends EDS Director to assist with response to Puna Lava Flow on Hawaii Island

The Salvation Army Alaska Division Emergency Disaster Services [EDS] Director, Jenni Ragland, will be deployed as part of the Territorial Technical Assistance Team in response to the Kilauea Volcano eruption and Puna lava flow.

The Salvation Army team in Hilo continues to respond to those affected by the lava flow with meal coordination, hydration, and emotional and spiritual care at the shelters in Pahoa and Keaau, with clothing vouchers distributed at the Recovery Information and Assistance Centers (RIAC). In addition, The Salvation Army is handling oversight of a distribution center for basic needs items in Pahoa for those affected by the Puna lava flow. Between May 9 and May 16, more than 5,400 meals have been served at the two existing shelters in Pahoa and Keaau.

Ragland will be joined by The Salvation Army’s Territorial EDS Director John Berglund and The Salvation Army Southern California Division’s Emergency Disaster Services Director Nick Nguyen. The team’s primary goal will be to assess and support current response efforts, develop the organization’s long-term recovery plans and enhance collaborative relationships with government and other agency partners in order to build capacity and coordinate resources to assist those who have been displaced by recent disaster events in Hawaii.

During emergencies, the best way the public can help is to provide monetary donations which allows the delivery of the exact relief supplies individual’s need and allows us to purchase needed items locally which support the community’s recovery.

The public is encouraged to support the emergency disaster services efforts via monetary donations at hawaii.salvationarmy.org.