Support Hurricane Helene Victims in the South!

Hurricane Helene: Donate for disaster relief in the South!

Members of the PSL are currently working to gather thousands of dollars worth of relief supplies to bring throughout Georgia, Florida, and southern Appalachia as well as other areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

Nearly 100 people are confirmed dead as a result of the storm, and the death toll is expected to rise. Thousands are unaccounted for. Over a million people are currently still without power. Hurricane Helene was so massive that the tropical storm winds extended more than 300 miles from the eye of the storm. Reportedly 99% of Lowndes County Georgia is without power.

Rivers in East TN and West NC raged as Helene hit, with people caught in flash flooding as dams were overtopped and roadways failed. Dozens were stranded on the roof and rescued by helicopter at the Unicoi County Hospital in TN. Asheville NC is currently inundated by devastating floodwaters. Roads in western NC are largely impassable - power & cell service is knocked out for entire communities.

While the government left people to fend for themselves, working class people always come together to support one another. While people were ordered to evacuate some low lying areas, no support was given to actually do so, and people still had to go to work. The elderly, disabled, children had to depend on family or friends who had the money and means to help them escape.

We demand FEMA and the insurance companies fully cover the costs for people's needs without delay. We demand an end to the environmental destruction and pollution leading to climate change and the warmer oceans which are making these storms bigger, stronger, more frequent and unpredictable.

Socialists are working to change this state of society. We want a society where the people’s needs come first, not the profit margins of the oil companies and mega corporations.

My name is Sarah and I am writing this as a regional organizer for the PSL. The funds we raise will be withdrawn to Liberation Gulf Coast, which is an allied community organization here in the South. We will distribute funds to multiple teams of volunteers who are already on the ground carrying out relief work and distributing materials and aid. Funds will reimburse purchases already made of water, tarps, batteries, diapers, food, fuel, and any other necessary relief items, as well as help us to purchase additional supplies. All of the relief is being distributed as quickly as we can collect it. We have already made distributions in St. Petersburg, Florida city on 9/27, in Atlanta, Augusta, Dublin, and Valdosta, Georgia on 9/28 and 9/29, Gulfport, Florida on 9/29, in Newton, TN starting on 9/29, and in Asheville and surrounding communities every day since we were able to drive in on 9/30. We have planned for continued distribution in the hardest hit parts of the disaster zone throughout this week and into the next, and for longer as needed.