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You never see a community come together quite like in the aftermath of a tragedy or disaster. If a natural disaster strikes your area or a nearby region, you may be wondering how you can help victims of natural disasters.
Even if someone is financially prepared, there are many challenges associated with natural disasters. DadsDollarsDebt recently lost his home after a very abrupt Tubb’s Fire Evacuation, which was the impetus for an excellent series on disaster preparedness – A Harrowing Escape Inspires the Personal Finance Community – Beyond the Emergency Fund. This is our contribution to help everyone band together and support those around us.
Here are 10 ways you can really assist families who have been impacted by natural disasters.
Donate Money
It’s simple to do, but usually the most effective and efficient way to help. Relief organizations are in constant need of financial support. You’ll want to be wary of illegitimate organizations – they can pop up after all kinds of tragedies, unfortunately. To make sure your donation is truly going toward helping families affected by disaster, donate to an organization that is well-established and is transparent about funding .
Funds can help families in all kinds of ways – your donation may buy food, household supplies, or even pay for lodging or medical care. A reputable charity should be able to give you clear answers about how your donation will be used.
Foster Pets
Pets are often displaced during natural disasters or they may not be able to remain with families who are forced to evacuate. If your area remains unthreatened, you can offer to house and care for pets who might otherwise be abandoned. You can make personal arrangements or connect with animal organizations in your region to help.
Provide Diapers
Diapers are often in short supply in shelters and during the aftermath, especially for families who have been hit financially by natural disaster. Contact relief organizations and reach out to shelter leaders to ask about their diaper needs.
Give Blood
Particularly devastating natural disasters are likely to cause severe injury. Donating blood is always a great thing to do for your community, especially when a surge in injuries causes a dip in supply at the blood banks.
Offer Childcare
Many parents in areas struck by natural disaster find themselves with a huge mess to clean up – both literally and figuratively! Help these parents out by offering to watch their kids while they piece their lives back together. They are likely dealing with all kinds of stressful situations: returning to work or finding a new job, locating missing family members, finding a new home or dealing with extensive repairs… The details can seem unending. Children will also benefit from having a calm and attentive caregiver as they deal with a traumatic life event.
Check Before You Send Donated Items
Often, certain items like clothing are not needed and can actually hinder relief workers by causing excess clutter and taking up valuable man-hours to deal with. Check with area relief organizations, community members, and shelters to find out which supplies are actually needed before you send donated items. If you’re in doubt, refer to #1 and send money instead.
Related: 10 Places to Donate Your Unwanted Gifts So They Can Really Make a Difference
Open Your Home
Whether you open your home for a meal, or if you have an extra room to share with a displaced disaster victim, opening your home in any capacity can be helpful. I’ve seen community members even open up their internet connection by getting rid of the password and renaming the network “FREE WIFI” during stressful, uncertain times.
Get Medical Training
Basic medical and first aid knowledge puts you in a position to help others in the event of a natural disaster. We have a great list of thank you gifts for first responders if you’d rather go that route too.
Go Where You’re Needed
Volunteers could be needed, especially if you have certain skills. Construction skills, medical knowledge, and organizational experience are all usually in demand during these times. On the other hand, clothes and excess donations aren’t the only thing that can hinder the work of relief organizations – some leaders have experienced an excess of bodies.
We all want to be helpful, but in some situations, too many people heading to a disaster area can have the opposite effect. If your particular skills aren’t needed, you may end up being more of a drain on resources than you are a helpful volunteer. There are many ways to help, as evidenced here, so call ahead and ask about current needs before you volunteer and if you do feel like you might just be “taking up space” at a volunteer site, don’t be afraid to ask leaders where you might be more helpful.
Prepare Your Family Well
The more prepared you are as a family, the less likely you are to need help from relief workers during a natural disaster – which frees them up to help others. This is also a good time to remind your family that as bad as they feel you may have it sometimes, that’s truly not the case.
Has your family ever been impacted by a natural disaster? What kind of help did you receive from your community?
More Resources
- The Retirement Manifesto – Am I A Prepper?
- Minafi – Minimal Hurricane Preparation
- A Gai Shan Life – Earthquake and disaster preparedness
- My Money Wizard – Are You Mentally (and Financially) Prepared to Lose Everything?
