Fred Rogers may have said it best.
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'"
Rogers was the well-loved host of the children's TV show "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood." He died in 2003. But many people remember his words about helpers when disaster happens.
Hurricane Harvey hit southeast Texas last month. Almost 52 inches of rain fell in about five days. That is a new record for the mainland U.S. in one storm.
Heavy flooding after the storm left tens of thousands of people homeless. The dead are still being counted. But there also are people who are helping.
Helping Each Other
Brock Long leads the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It works with all other government departments when there is a disaster.
In Houston, it worked with the Coast Guard and the Department of Health and Human Services. Helicopters flew in to rescue people trapped on the roofs of their homes. Medical teams came in to set up emergency rooms.
Their help was needed. Local and state officials could not keep up with the number of calls from people who needed to be rescued.
The Washington Post talked to Long a few weeks before the hurricane. "People need to be the help before help arrives," he said at the time. And that is what Texans did.
Help on the Way
They used social media such as Facebook and Twitter to ask for or offer help. They used their own boats and kayaks. They carried people to places above the flooding.
Soon, they were helped by others who had been through hurricanes themselves.
Jordy Bloodsworth is one of the helpers. He was only 12 years old when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005. The storm dropped 14 feet of water on his family's home. They lost everything.
Now he is part of a group called the "Cajun Navy." It does search and rescue work. When he saw people wading through Harvey's floodwaters on TV, he got busy.
Bloodsworth borrowed a truck and drove to Texas with his boat.
"I know how it feels to lose everything," he said. "There's no way I could pass up helping."
Many families in Houston offered their homes to people who fled Katrina. Now they need the same help.
Houston opened its convention center to 10,000 of the people who lost their homes. Churches opened their doors. Volunteers came to those centers to cook and to feed people. They sorted donations of clothes.
How You Can Help
Charities are also asking for help. They say that money is the quickest way to help victims of the storm and flooding.
Give to relief groups you know will use the money wisely. Sites such as GuideStar.org and CharityNavigator.org can help you choose.
Donate directly through a website. It gets money to a charity faster than a donation through a text message.
For now, don't send food or clothing. Relief groups will know what is needed.
"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'"
Rogers was the well-loved host of the children's TV show "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood." He died in 2003. But many people remember his words about helpers when disaster happens.
Hurricane Harvey hit southeast Texas last month. Almost 52 inches of rain fell in about five days. That is a new record for the mainland U.S. in one storm.
Heavy flooding after the storm left tens of thousands of people homeless. The dead are still being counted. But there also are people who are helping.
Helping Each Other
Brock Long leads the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It works with all other government departments when there is a disaster.
In Houston, it worked with the Coast Guard and the Department of Health and Human Services. Helicopters flew in to rescue people trapped on the roofs of their homes. Medical teams came in to set up emergency rooms.
Their help was needed. Local and state officials could not keep up with the number of calls from people who needed to be rescued.
The Washington Post talked to Long a few weeks before the hurricane. "People need to be the help before help arrives," he said at the time. And that is what Texans did.
Help on the Way
They used social media such as Facebook and Twitter to ask for or offer help. They used their own boats and kayaks. They carried people to places above the flooding.
Soon, they were helped by others who had been through hurricanes themselves.
Jordy Bloodsworth is one of the helpers. He was only 12 years old when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005. The storm dropped 14 feet of water on his family's home. They lost everything.
Now he is part of a group called the "Cajun Navy." It does search and rescue work. When he saw people wading through Harvey's floodwaters on TV, he got busy.
Bloodsworth borrowed a truck and drove to Texas with his boat.
"I know how it feels to lose everything," he said. "There's no way I could pass up helping."
Many families in Houston offered their homes to people who fled Katrina. Now they need the same help.
Houston opened its convention center to 10,000 of the people who lost their homes. Churches opened their doors. Volunteers came to those centers to cook and to feed people. They sorted donations of clothes.
How You Can Help
Charities are also asking for help. They say that money is the quickest way to help victims of the storm and flooding.
Give to relief groups you know will use the money wisely. Sites such as GuideStar.org and CharityNavigator.org can help you choose.
Donate directly through a website. It gets money to a charity faster than a donation through a text message.
For now, don't send food or clothing. Relief groups will know what is needed.
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