Missouri Flood Victims Receive Help and Hope from North Carolina-Based Relief Group

Samaritan’s Purse Disaster Relief Unit Sets Up Command Center in Piedmont, Mo. “When homes and lives are washed away, people need someone to support them and let them know that God loves them.” -Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse

BOONE, N.C., March 31, 2008—As the floodwaters recede, Samaritan's Purse Disaster Relief Unit is mobilizing volunteers and relief supplies to help Piedmont, Mo., residents begin rebuilding their lives.

The small Missouri town has been hit with torrential rains, causing local rivers to swell, flooding roads and neighborhoods, and displacing some 300 residents.  Samaritan's Purse has set up a command center at a local Piedmont church to coordinate volunteer efforts and work with the Black River Retreat Community to remove mud, mold and other debris from homes.

"In the wake of a disaster, people need a helping hand.  They need physical aid, but also compassion," said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan's Purse.  "We are there to bring them hope as well as help."

Samaritan's Purse is a non-profit, Christian organization that provides immediate, no-red-tape response to the physical and spiritual needs of individuals in crisis situations-especially in locations where few others are working.  Samaritan's Purse has worked in more than 100 countries to provide aid to victims of war, disease, disaster, poverty, famine and persecution. 

Since the 1980s, Samaritan's Purse has been involved in domestic disaster response.  Last year, staff and volunteers responded to tornadoes in Americus, Ga., and Greensburg, Kan., as well as flooding in Minnesota and wildfires in California.  On the Gulf Coast, Samaritan's Purse helped clean, repair or replace homes for more than 12,000 families after the devastating hurricanes of 2005.

The organization has four tractor-trailer units stocked with emergency supplies and tools, ready to roll whenever disaster strikes.  Each of these units can function as a self-supporting operations center for volunteers and staff.  he priority of Samaritan's Purse Disaster Relief is to help those who are unable to help themselves-the poor, elderly, disabled and uninsured. 

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