Brigid Bergin: It's The Brian Lehrer Show and WNYC. I'm Brigid Bergin filling in for Brian today. The death toll from Hurricane Helene was up to 180 this morning across six states in the southeast. Some rural communities in the mountains are cut off without power, cell service, water, or roads. The AP was reporting that mules have been used to deliver supplies and some towns have to rely on non-metaphorical message boards. We're talking old-school bulletin boards for their social media. Massive relief efforts are underway, but what can individuals do to help, and what can they do to not get in the way?

Allie Volpe, senior reporter at Vox, has looked into this, and she joins us now. Allie, welcome back to WNYC.

Allie Volpe: Thanks so much for having me.

Brigid Bergin: Listeners, we want to hear from you. Many of you have maybe made donations already. If you want to share your recommendations and if you have connections to these affected areas, especially those in western North Carolina, what are you hearing from friends and family, and what do you want your neighbors to know about how they can help from here? Call or text us, the number is 212433 WNYC 212-433-9692. Allie, you lead with a couple of things to avoid, like heading into the effective areas or just sending supplies until they're requested. Tell us what the problem is there.

Allie Volpe: Right. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency specifically early this week told volunteers and the community to not send supplies in. While that might be a knee-jerk reaction, a very well-meaning one, it can get in the way of active recovery. Some of these organizations don't know exactly what they need until the extent of the damage is assessed. Emergency management agencies do not ask anyone to send physical donations, especially clothing. FEMA had mentioned on their website that many people jump to donate used clothing, but that is almost never required.

Until some of the charitable organizations know exactly what they need, people should hold off on donating physical items.

Brigid Bergin: Presumably that means they should be sending money, is that right?

Allie Volpe: Correct. Yes. Cash is king, as they say. Money is the best way to go. Again, because the organizations know exactly what they need to spend it on, and they often will buy items in bulk, and so your money and your donation goes farther when you just send money directly to these organizations.

Brigid Bergin: Listeners, we know many of you have connections to this part of the country, and we want to hear from you. We want to know how you're trying to help your friends and family, what you're hoping neighbors can do from here. If there are any organizations you want to shout out where you can send money that you know are helping people on the ground, call us, text us. The number is 212433 WNYC. That's 212-433-9692, we want to offer as many suggestions to listeners who we know want to help those in need in our last segment of the show.

Allie, you listed some of those organizations that are already on the ground in these affected areas. Can you talk about what some of them are?

Allie Volpe: Sure, yes. This is by no means a comprehensive list. We just focused on larger, more national organizations, but a fund has been set up with the East Tennessee Foundation that supports local nonprofits in Tennessee dedicated to rescue and recovery. The National Coalition of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster are looking for cash donations to support recovery across the region. The North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund helps with the unmet needs of hurricane victims. Of course, there's the Salvation army, the United Way, Feeding America, Americares, and even GoFundMe is organizing its own fundraiser to help disaster relief efforts.

Brigid Bergin: Wow. Then do organizations like Red Cross or Americares coordinate their efforts, or how does that fit in?

Allie Volpe: Right. Through the Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster or VOAD, there's a coalition of over 70 organizations that work together to deploy resources to impacted regions. It was founded in 1970 to better coordinate efforts after-- If you have all these moving parts and all these organizations, some needs will go unmet. Sometimes you have too many people responding to the same thing. That organization really streamlines things. Their member partnerships are both national and local. Americares, American Red Cross, they are all part of this organization that will help coordinate efforts.

Brigid Bergin: Do you have a sense of when they will need volunteers on the ground? If someone has the ability to volunteer, how do they connect with those opportunities? How do they get placed where the need is greatest?

Allie Volpe: Right. We suggested in our piece to seek out the VOAD organization. Again, because they have so many organizations in their coalition, volunteers are maybe not needed immediately. Their website reminds volunteers to be patient because, again, they don't know the extent of what is needed. You can sign up on their website. It's nvoad.org/ volunteer. If people are local to the area, and they will be given an assignment once there is an opportunity, they also advise people to not go to the region and self-deploy.

Again, that could be very dangerous, especially in areas of North Carolina where access to these communities is still not happening. Roads are down, roads are covered, cell service is down. It could be not a good idea to go to these areas, especially if you are by yourself.

Brigid Bergin: Let's go to Aminata in Brooklyn. Aminata, thanks for calling WNYC.

Aminata: Thank you. I just wanted to plug in the Craft Emergency Relief Fund. They're also known as CERF+. They support local craft artists in the area. Like North Carolina, Asheville, those places are home to a lot of amazing craft institutions like Penland and Touchstone and the Center for Craft in Asheville, but they also is a large artist community. If folks are interested in helping those people as well, we can-- CERF+ is a really wonderful place to donate because they do the emergency relief so they can help people in need.

Brigid Bergin: Aminata, is CERF+ the website, is that where someone would go to find information?

Aminata: Let me see. I think if you just Google CERF+, that's probably the best thing to do because they have-- It's like part of the top thing that you see on their website. That would be what I would do.

Brigid Bergin: All right. Aminata, thanks so much for calling and for that suggestion. I'm wondering about mutual aid groups. That's a model that we have seen providing hyperlocal assistance. Certainly, we've seen it here in our region in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, during the pandemic. Are there groups like that on the ground in this region that also could use support? Is there a way for people here to provide them with that kind of support?

Allie Volpe: Right. I was reading some New York Times reporting from yesterday that local restaurants were delivering food to people. Like, really? Organizations in the community are stepping up in North Carolina again because the aid has not been able to come through. Again, I'm unsure on how folks at home can help donate if they are not able to access the Internet in North Carolina, but it seems like the community is really stepping up to help one another, and there's a lot of frustration about lack of aid.

Brigid Bergin: I know that one of the things that people always have to watch out for in these instances are scams that prey on both victims of the disasters, but also targeting the people who want to help those people. Are you seeing some of that already pop up?

Allie Volpe: Right. None that I'm aware of, but of course, it's always very rampant, especially in the wake of a disaster. Folks should always research organizations they plan to give to and avoid donating to ones that have some red flags. If someone is rushing you into making a donation, asking you to wire money, or asking for cash on the street or via a gift card, you should probably pause for a second. There are a couple of websites, give.org and charitynavigator.org. You can type in whatever the organization is and they provide rankings on trustworthiness and the effectiveness of where the money goes.

Brigid Bergin: I want to share a couple of texts we received from listeners with some more suggestions. One listener writes, I'm from the area of East Tennessee affected. I follow area news on the website Appalachian Voices. Currently, there's a list on their homepage of local and national organizations which are approved for donations. Another listener writes, I donated to World Central Kitchen. They're already on the ground in the Asheville, North Carolina area and are operating out of a local restaurant that still had power.

Lots of local volunteers have already aided the efforts. Chef Jose Andreas is a lifeline in disaster relief. Definitely someone who we've heard in other disasters coming to the aid of victims. I'm wondering, just any final thoughts for listeners who are thinking how can they help now? Where should they go to find these resources?

Allie Volpe: Right. I think if you search local organizations, I think would be the best way to go. I think if you look up again like the listener suggested, local news outlets, I think we'll have the most comprehensive list of on-the-ground organizations that are actively looking for donations for items. Then a bit of a warning of even if you had previously travel plans to this area, I would consider rescheduling, not going. Tourists can complicate search and rescue efforts. Not only is it very dangerous to maybe navigate some of these roads right now, so to not go to the area.

Brigid Bergin: Definitely. Check out your travel plans, perhaps reschedule. I want to leave it there for today. Allie Volpe is a senior reporter at Vox. Thank you so much for coming on.

Allie Volpe: Thanks so much for having me.

Brigid Bergin: I'm Brigid Bergin. This is The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Stay tuned for All Of It.

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