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Lantern Award recognizes social media efforts during Hurricane Harvey restoration

When Harvey hit, many of the victims who lost everything didn’t qualify for help from FEMA. Some couldn’t even prove who they were or where they lived, because Harvey washed away all their paperwork. That’s where Mission Northeast in New Caney stepped in.

When floodwaters began rising in their neighborhood in Orange, Texas, Jessica and Aceson Holmes safely moved their pets and vehicles to higher ground and evacuated before the worst of Hurricane Harvey’s rains arrived. Over the next few days, the water reached 5 feet in their house and 6 feet in their barn as Adams Bayou swelled over its banks.

In those days following Harvey, uncertainty hung thick in the air. Even though the rains had passed, whole communities had been swallowed by flooding and residents were uncertain if more was to come. One year later, Salvation Army is still working to help those in need.

The boxes of prepackaged meals ready to eat multiplied and grew along walls and in hallways, a sign of the generosity pouring into Southeast Texas from across the country. As the president and CEO of the United Way of Beaumont and North Jefferson County, Karyn Husbands and her team were facing how to coordinate with nonprofits across the region. Luckily, her team quickly had an answer for the MREs.

Entergy Mississippi employees’ generosity helped colleagues start over after Hurricane Harvey.