Helping after Helene: Central Valley organizations and businesses send people, supplies

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- As disaster sweeps across the Southeast, people are leaving their homes seeking shelter and support. Some will be met by Red Cross volunteers from right here in Central California.

"So we will be sending our first wave of volunteers for two weeks, and then we're going to be needing to send more to replace those folks," said Taylor Poisall, Red Cross Central California. "As they come back, they rest and recover and see if they want to raise their hand to go again or see if it's someone else who will take the reins."

Volunteers geared up and traveled thousands of miles to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene.

That help goes beyond setting up cots and handing out snacks.

"We're providing emotional support. This is the third hurricane this year to affect the Florida Panhandle, and so that's going to bring a lot of emotional trauma," said Poisall. "Some people are still recovering from Hurricane Idalia from last year in these same states. So there's going to be a lot of needs."

As people are pushed from their homes, grabbing what they can, often with no guess as to when they can return, simple comforts may be hard to get depending on where they land.

The Lavatory, based in Fresno, initially started out providing bathroom trailers for events, but now it deploys laundry and shower trailers to sites of natural disasters across the country, including places hit by Hurricane Helene.

"This time, we have sent out six or seven eight-station shower units, just like this, and we have three or four laundry trailers out," said Michael Viramontes, The Lavatory. "They have been, so they haven't been deployed as in setup at their sites, but they're in base camps waiting to be positioned. And we have units in Georgia as well as in Florida."

The company contracts with FEMA, The Red Cross, and churches to aid in their efforts.

If you would like to help, you can become a Red Cross volunteer or donate money to the organization.

For news updates, follow Kate Nemarich on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.