More AmeriCorps and Senior Corps Teams Deploy to Texas for Harvey Response

Nearly 550 AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members from Texas and across the nation respond to recovery efforts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has deployed nearly 550 AmeriCorps members, including FEMA Corps, from across the nation to support recovery efforts in Texas. AmeriCorps members are working with the American Red Cross, supporting shelter and mass care operations, as well as providing assistance to FEMA’s logistics and disaster survivor assistance teams.

In coordination with FEMA and the Texas Division of Emergency Management, AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams from Texas Conservation Corps, Washington Conservation Corps, the Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa, and AmeriCorps NCCC, as well as SBP, an AmeriCorps program, are coordinating with FEMA and the Texas Division of Emergency Management to begin volunteer coordination to muck and gut homes, a critical need based on demand. In addition, Senior Corps projects across the state are mobilizing volunteers to support shelters and manage donations.

CNCS is calling upon the more than one million AmeriCorps alumni – many of whom have responded to disasters – and national network of Senior Corps volunteers to answer the urgent call for trained and skilled volunteers.

In coordination with FEMA, Volunteer Florida, and other local partners, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps projects are also supporting preparation efforts for Hurricane Irma, training with the American Red Cross so that local AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members can support shelter operations and other critical needs.

This summer, nearly 1,000 national service members have responded to the wildfires ravaging the Western U.S., including AmeriCorps members from California, Utah, and Washington. AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members are currently responding to fires in California, Idaho, Montana, and Utah, and this work can support base camps, expand control lines, conduct fuel fire reduction activities, complete ember removal and mop-up, and provide evacuee and survivor assistance, as well as other services needed to expand the response.

Following a disaster, national service acts as a force multiplier, providing key resources and significantly expanding the capacity of existing organizations on the ground. Through all its programs and initiatives, CNCS helps communities to prepare for, mitigate, respond, and recover from disasters. In times of disaster, AmeriCorps teams have provided critical support after countless disasters, including Hurricane Katrina, last year’s Louisiana flooding, Hurricane Sandy, tornadoes in Joplin, Mo., Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Moore, Okla., the explosion in West, Texas, and the Deepwater Horizon BP Oil Spill.

Those wanting to learn how they help and to sign up to receive updates should visit nationalservice.gov/harvey.