Disaster Services
Taylor's Story
The day the Duck Bus collided with a bus full of North Seattle College students, The Salvation Army in Seattle rushed over to see how they could help. Months after the incident, someone showed “Taylor” a picture of the incident. She was quite shaken by the sight of her shoes laying in front of the bus. She had been sitting in the second row of the bus, and seeing those shoes brought home to her just how far she had been thrown.
The Salvation Army was there on the day of the crash, and still there many months later, visiting Taylor during her time in the rehabilitation center and driving her to the hospital for occupational therapy. They even invited her to a Christmas dinner.
Because of her injuries, Taylor lost her job, but The Salvation Army was there to help and provided her a place to live. Over those months Taylor was moved from wheelchair to walker to cane to walking with no support at all. Going from fear and anger, Taylor soon trusted in herself and those around her that everything was going to be okay.
When disaster strikes, The Salvation Army is there – because we are already there, everywhere, serving throughout the country. Our proximity often means we are first on the scene to help those suffering from a disaster. And, our teams stay as long as needed, helping to restore communities long after disaster strikes.
Training: The first step in being ready to respond to an emergency is training. The Salvation Army’s disaster training program offers a variety of courses designed to help individuals and communities prepare for emergency events and become trained disaster volunteers.
Food Service: When disaster strikes, one of the first signs that help is on the way is often the arrival of a Salvation Army mobile feeding unit, offering meals, snacks and drinks to rescue workers and survivors.
Emotional and Spiritual Care: Motivated by Christian faith, The Salvation Army deploys specially trained individuals to offer emotional and spiritual care to rescue workers and disaster survivors.
Replacing Tangible Items: After a family has lost everything in a disaster, The Salvation Army is there to provide emergency assistance to help meet survivors’ most urgent needs for food, clothing, shelter and medical services.