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Disaster Relief Services

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While each disaster creates its own unique circumstances and special needs, The Salvation Army offers several basic services to disaster victims and rescue workers. These services form the core of The Salvation Army's disaster services program, but are not the limit. Salvation Army services are flexible and may be adapted to meet the specific needs of an individual community or a disaster event.


Food Service Often the most recognized aspect of The Salvation Army's disaster work, The Salvation Army provides hot meals, snacks, and drinks to disaster victims and emergency workers. This food may be served at congregate feeding sites, such as an Army corps building, camp, or shelter, or from one of the Army's fleet mobile kitchens, a "canteen." Want to learn more about canteens?

Donations Management The Salvation Army is one of nation's charitable leaders in in-kind donations management, collecting, sorting, and distributing donated goods through its many programs. During a disaster, the Army may open disaster warehouses to receive and sort additional donations and establish distributioncenters to dispense these goods directly to disaster victims. Want to learn more about donations?

Emergency Assistance The Salvation Army provides direct financialassistance to disaster victims through a system of trained caseworkers. In the early phases of a disaster event, emergency financial assistance is focused on a disaster victim's essential needs: food, clothing, shelter, and medical.

Emotional and Spiritual Care The Salvation Army provides emotional support spiritual care to disaster victims and emergency workers coping with the stress of a disaster. This support may include comforting the injured and bereaved, conducting memorial services, and providing chaplaincy services. More often it simply a listening ear, open heart and a helpful presence.

Disaster Shelter During a disaster, The Salvation Army may open temporary shelters to provide emergency housing to evacuees or disaster survivors. These shelters may be located in schools, churches, community buildings or Salvation Army facilities.

Emergency Communications Through the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) and other amateur radio organizations, The Salvation Army helps support communications during a disaster. HAM operators perform disaster welfare inquires, helping friends and family located outside the disaster area locate their loved when more tranditional communications methods are inoperative. Want to learn more about SATERN?

Long-term Recovery Case Management Once immediate needs have been met, The Salvation Army transitions its emergency assistance program to long-term recovery. Disaster victims who need additional support may meet with case managers to develop a permanent recovery plan. The Salvation Army also provides additional recovery assistance by participating in community-based recovery committees.

Cleanup and Reconstruction The Salvation Army continues to support disaster victims as they cleanup from a disaster by distributing cleanup supplies. These supplies can include items such mops, brooms, buckets, shovels, detergents, and tarps. During catastrophic events, The Salvation Army may also coordinate volunteer-based reconstruction projects with charitable and corporate partners.