American Red Cross helps tornado victims

|This is a press release from American Red Cross of Southeast Mississippi

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The American Red Cross of Mississippi is partnering with other local disaster assistance organizations to open a “one-stop shop” for survivors of the storms that recently affected our area. The Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning Tuesday, January 31, and will be located at the True Light Baptist Church, 840 Main Street in Hattiesburg, MS 39401. The MARC will be closed on Sunday, but will remain open Saturday, Feb. 5, 2017.

Caseworkers will be available at the MARC to help people create personal recovery plans, navigate paperwork, and locate assistance for their specific disaster-caused needs, such as cleanup of debris, assistance for groceries, rent, medicine and other items or services. Representatives from government, nonprofit and faith-based disaster relief organizations will also be on hand at the MARC to assist disaster survivors.

“Red Cross is proud to join our statewide and local partners in Hattiesburg and Petal to help survivors of the storms navigate the road to recovery,” said Cheryl Kocurek, job director for the Red Cross Disaster Response in Mississippi. “Already, this community has pulled together to help their neighbors affected by the storms and the Red Cross and our partners will continue to be here to help people in the days ahead.”

There will also be agencies that can help with those who need long-term recovery assistance. Individuals and families can meet with agencies for referrals or other long-term recovery services if your family is not eligible for government assistance or if that assistance is inadequate to meet your needs.

Individuals and families applying for assistance will be asked to show evidence of pre-disaster address to be eligible for assistance from some agencies.