#disaster relief funding

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Morgan Stephens at Daily Kos:

When asked if he would reconvene the House to vote on additional FEMA aid for Hurricane Helene across the southeast U.S. and Hurricane Milton victims in Florida, Speaker Mike Johnson declined—for the second time this week.  “To be clear: Congress will act again upon its return in November to address funding needs and ensure those impacted receive the necessary resources,” Athina Lawson, a spokesman for Johnson, said in a statement to POLITICO on Thursday.

Talk about hypocrisy.  Johnson visited Helene disaster sites in North Carolina, and had the audacity to attack FEMA, all while refusing to bring the House back together for a vote for more aid. On Thursday, he posted on X: “Congress is fully prepared to provide additional disaster relief funding as soon as states submit their damage assessments. Our prayers and support are with every American community across the broad swath of these historic storms.” U.S. military deliveries of emergency supplies in Western North Carolina’s “unreachable areas” are still being dropped by air to isolated residents due to unusable roads, lack of water supply, and power outages. FEMA has spent $9 billion already, nearly half of its allocated $20 billion budget in just eight days. 

[...]

This comes after President Joe Biden sent a letter last Friday formally asking Congress for more funding and to reconvene in the wake of the natural disaster. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) does not want to help Hurricane Helene and Milton victims. Vote Democratic if you want reliable disaster relief instead of it becoming a political football.

[alwaysbewoke]

i have to remember not everyone in florida voted for these people in power because it's hard to feel sorry for them sometimes. really hard (watch til the end smfh)

and she's going to turn around the vote for him AGAIN smfh

[exhuastedpigeon]

If y'all have anything you can spare for the Hurricane Helene relief, please do. I have friends who lost their houses, friends who don't know when they'll be able to leave their houses because the roads are flooded, friends who don't know if their family is okay because the cell reception is so bad.

There are so many ways you can help, what I'm sharing below doesn't even scratch the surface.

[scribesofcalamity]

Hey GW2 community! One of our own is in need of some help after losing everything to Hurricane Helene.

If you’ve been lurking around the community,especially on Instagram,you have probably seen Calisianna’s beautiful screen edits of the game. She’s a lovely person who puts her heart and soul into creating for the community. After fighting rising water to help to evacuate their elderly neighbors from their apartment complex,she and her husband were able to make it out with their cats. However,they have lost so much-their home,her husband's job,and for Cali as a disabled creator, it’s going to be a long road to rebuilding their lives. The above photos are of their apartment complex and neighborhood in the aftermath.

Her step-son has kindly created a go-fund me to help support them. (I received this directly from Cali and have donated myself)

You can find Calisianna’s Insta here.

https://www.instagram.com/calisianna_gw2?igsh=dmQzbG9lOTJ5OWV5

Please share this around,and if you donate any amount,please DM me with a screenshot of your donation, and I will draw you a lil bust sketch of your character. (Gw2,DND,original OC! Open to anything) Let’s help Cali out where we can so she can eventually continue sharing her wonderful adventures in Tyria 💖

(This post was made with Cali's explicit permission!💙)

[pinkcultgirl]

You have ‘Asheville’ in your bio, I’m assuming NC

I’m sorry if this is too forward but I *really* hope you’re ok. Helene hit the western half of the state hard

From one online stranger to another, I’m sending you thoughts and agnostic prayers <3

I am safe now thank u for asking! Srry 2 worry u but ur so sweet for asking <3 <3

and i finally made it out of AVL after 3 days of trying </3 im back at my parent's for the time being, I love western NC sm it hurts my heart so bad to see some of my fav places underwater i kinda still am in shock and a daze tbh :-( It would mean a lot if ppl share these mutual aid resources, most of them are on my IG stories as well!

[troythecatfish]

[citrusbud]

new print up on etsy! all profits going to various funds to aid the people of palestine, sudan, congo, tigray and many others (all links on etsy)

based on the quote “they tried to bury us but they didn’t know we were seeds”

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

Disaster Relief: Go Fund Me donations to support Hurricane Helene Victims

[k1dkh1dr]

Hello Tumblr! Floods in Kenya have killed at least 170 and displaced more than 600,000 people. The situation is dire and the people need our immediate help. Please donate today. The proceeds from this will go to the purchase of food and other essential needs.

[grrlscientist]

WHOA!!

"Breaking News:

President Biden has asked Congress to immediately approve additional FEMA funds.

Mike Johnson has refused, suggesting that this should wait until after the election."

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Rachel Leingang at The Guardian:

To hear Donald Trump tell it, America’s cities are in dire shape and in need of a federal intervention. “We’re going to rebuild our cities into beacons of hope, safety and beauty – better than they have ever been before,” he said during a recent speech to the National Rifle Association in what has become a common refrain on the campaign trail. “We will take over the horribly run capital of our nation, Washington DC.” Trump has for years railed against cities, particularly those run by Democratic officials, as hotbeds for crime and moral decay. He called Atlanta a “record setting Murder and Violent Crime War Zone” last year, a similar claim he makes frequently about various cities.

His allies have an idea of how to capitalize on that agenda and make cities in Trump’s image, detailed in the conservative Project 2025: unleash new police forces on cities like Washington DC, withhold federal disaster and emergency grants unless they follow immigration policies like detaining undocumented immigrants and share sensitive data with the federal government for immigration enforcement purposes.

Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, an extensive document breaking down each part of the federal government and recommending changes to be made to advance rightwing policy, was created by the Heritage Foundation, with dozens of conservative organizations and prominent names contributing chapters based on their backgrounds. This part of the project is another Republican attempt at a crackdown on so-called “sanctuary” cities, places around the country that don’t cooperate with the federal government on enforcing harsh immigration policies.

[...]

The threat of withholding federal funds

Republicans, cheered on by Trump, have worked to make immigration a key issue in cities across the country by busing migrants from the US-Mexico border inland, to places run by Democrats like New York, DC and Chicago, overwhelming the social safety net in these cities. The idea of using federal funds granted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to force immigration changes are included in a chapter about the Department of Homeland Security, written by Ken Cuccinelli, Trump’s former deputy secretary of homeland security.

The chapter’s initial recommendation is to dismantle DHS entirely, create a border-focused agency comprised of other immigration-related organizations and farm out the rest of its components to existing agencies (or privatize them, in the case of the Transportation Security Administration). It’s not directly clear whether the aim is to use all Fema funds – including those that help cities and states in the immediate aftermath of an emergency like a tornado or flood – or large grant programs for things like emergency preparedness. One line in the chapter says “post-disaster or nonhumanitarian funding” could be exempt from the immigration policy requirements. The chapter also suggests that cities and states should take on more of the burden of financially responding to disasters.

[...]

One of the conditions Project 2025 suggests is requiring states or localities to share information with the federal government for law and immigration enforcement, and specifies that this would include both department of motor vehicle and voter registration databases. This is of particular interest in many cities because 19 states and Washington DC allow undocumented people to get drivers licenses, the Niskanen Center, a thinktank that delved into the project’s immigration aims, points out. These licenses help with public safety by decreasing the potential for hit-and-runs and increasing work hours, among other benefits, the center writes. If a city or state is forced to choose between issuing licenses and then sharing this information for use by immigration authorities, or accessing emergency funds for their whole population in a crisis, it’ll be tough for them to deny Fema money, said Cecilia Esterline, an immigration research analyst at the Niskanen Center.

Donald Trump’s war on urban cities is part of the wretched far-right Project 2025 plan, including crackdowns on sanctuary cities.

See Also:

The Guardian: What is Project 2025 and what does it have to do with a second Trump term?

[wtf-amiru]

God I hate having to do this but living through a natural disaster is rough, yo.

[the tldr is my handicapped family and I are living through a wild time of crisis and are asking for help]

I know I’m not on here as consistently as I used to be. This year has been rough on my son and I and I just haven’t had the bandwidth to be here much; it’s been the skin of our teeth since January due to emergency vet bills.

But let me just tell you about right now. Right now I am living through a natural disaster as two massive forest fires rage around me. Two communities have been evacuated to my town and we’ve been given notice to have a 72 hour kit ready to go.

Most of you don’t know I have a 15 year old son in a wheelchair but I do, he was born a full month early and has cerebral palsy, he’s very fortunate that it only affects his motor skills but it means a vastly different lifestyle for us than most are accustomed to. I can't go anywhere if he’s at home, regardless of his age, I can quickly run to the corner store but I cannot go anywhere because I don’t have a vehicle to load him into. I can’t work an ordinary job, living up here means I don’t have the resources I would in a city for work and also means i am constantly on call for anything he might need. The last job i had i lost because i kept having to leave for my son.

And me, I have adenomyosis, something akin to endometriosis but they don't like to operate with adenomyosis because it's actually less likely to kill you if you don't. The pain and agony you feel is the same, but it won't kill you [as quickly]. So I cannot work a typical job because of that either. I also have severe social anxiety and untreated adhd, and multiple joint/skeletal problems, life is just hard for us here in my house.

We get by, my son is incredibly smart and capable, a whiz on the computer and a pixel artist; and i run a small resin business out of my basement and we get by, roughly but we get by pretty ok.

Right now I live in the middle of a natural disaster epicenter, the only "safe" city for about 3 hours due to massive raging forest fires circling around us, and our safety changes with the wind.

The last 3 days were spent spiraling down a panic spiral as literally every form of communication was cut off. No cell phone, no internet, no landland; I had no idea what was happening outside. They were spent spiraling because my family is completely unable to comprehend the situation my family specifically was in, the one day my mother did come in to check if we were okay she only brought up the same anxieties i had been panicking about the day before and stormed out of my house when i asked for actual help [can you call our providers and make sure it wasn't a missed bill, i have diagnosed memory issues that feed a good portion of my anxiety] so again I was back in our little spiraling anxiety hole worse than before. What does this mean and why did I say i hate doing this at the beginning, well I'm here to ask for help lol.

My currently situation is "swamped with bills and unable to restock my online store" due to literally everything that's happening right now. I'm here to ask for monetary help and business help. Over the next day or so I will be posting my /ENTIRE/ inventory to my tumblr blog at a discounted price. Prices will already be discounted from their normal store price, I can ship to anywhere in north america and most overseas places although that is currently really up in the air due to fires but do please inquire on anything if you are overseas, i'll get back to you asap with if i can ship to you or not. Anyway currently posting my entire inventory and, honestly, asking for donations through my paypal to get my family through this crisis and back on our feet. I am the sole guardian here and as you can see/know/am learning/have a vague idea about I am fairly handicapped myself.

[I will also be accepting discounted dice tray commissions]

[also please be patient and understanding with me, severe social anxiety sometimes means it takes me a few tries to respond :3 but I'm trying my best here]

[my PayPal qr, the email is also brokenmoldoddities@gmail.com or @brokenmoldoddities ]

[sadkidsunity]

please support

I am reaching out because I am at a loss, I know there are so many kind people in the world, and I am asking you all for your support in this devastating situation.

[whatareheartsfor]

Hi all! My friend started a fundraiser for her community in Western North Carolina after the devastation from Hurricane Helene. Donations go towards supplies like water and non-perishable food to be flown to the residents, as the area is currently inaccessible via roads.

Any little bit helps, but if you’re unable to donate at this time, please share this post so it can reach as many people as possible. My heart goes out to everyone reeling from Helene’s destruction.

[crowwithaccesstotheinternet]

Today is the Finals day of Te Matatini, and if you’re not watching already you should really tune in! Te Matatini is a kapa haka (Māori performing arts) competition in Aotearoa that’s often called the Olympics of Kapa Haka. The performances are absolutely stunning to watch!! As an American who just learned about this event, it’s been really cool to find out more about Māori culture while admiring some absolutely breath-taking art. It’s available to stream live or watch prerecorded on TVNZ or Haka Translate, with live translations in many different languages available! Even if you miss the live finals today, to my knowledge the competition will still be available to stream for a few more days afterwards. Unfortunately those websites are only available to people in Australia or Aotearoa, but with a little bit of stubbornness and a decent VPN you can watch from anywhere. (I’ve been using the free VPN TunnelBear, with the only downside being that every now and then I run out of free data and have to make a new account.) They also have a donation fund set up to help communities affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, so if you want to donate this is a great place to do that! https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/te-matatini-o-te-aroha

[gokyacetakal]

Home Depot’s in the Charlotte Area have diverted all their generator shipments to Hickory. If you are in the Charlotte area, like I am, and want to take clean drinking water to your family in an affected area, the Home Depots still have plenty of buckets and lids for you to use if you cannot get any bottled waters. I do not suggest donating buckets of water unless it is cleared with a charity group you want to give it to.

Hurricane Helene Relief Funds to those affected in the Southern Regions *will edit as I find more, please reblog as usual and check back for updates (Liking doesn't circulate it and isn't helpful)* *9/30 Has been edited! (Also, I think whenever I edit this it doesn't update the versions already reblogged?) ORGANIZATIONS American Red Cross FEMA Disaster Assistance Improvement Program Warmline Directory (Mental health resource) AKC Pet Reunite Food Not Bombs Operation BBQ Relief Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies & Roll Mobility Operation Air Drop GEORGIA State and Local Level Referrals - (60 Organizations Listed) Emergency Shelter Locations Animal League

NORTH CAROLINA Brother Wolf Animal Rescue Asheville Survival Program Homeward Bound State and Local Level Referrals Beloved Asheville Rural Community funds CLT Mutual Aid Fundraiser for a NC resident to deliver food to affected areas Mutual Aid Disaster Relief Animal Disaster Relief Coalition Mutual Aid Disaster Groups

Special Note: There are 2 Wifi Stations now open for public use. The locations are: SPOT 1: DoubleTree Hilton Downtown 199 Haywood SSID: SORTOR STARLINK Pass: ncstrong SPOT 2: Asheville Shelter Ferguson Building 340 Victoria Rd SSID: HALL STARLINK Pass: ncstrong SOUTH CAROLINA State and Local Level Referrals (44 Organizations Listed) FLORIDA Volunteer Florida Disaster Fund FootPrint Project State and Local Level Referrals - (52 Organizations Listed)

TENNESSEE HellBender Harm Reduction

More supplies to consider donating in hurricane impacted areas:

Bottled water, potentially water filters

Personal hygiene items: wipes, tampons/pads/other menstrual products, hand sanitizer, mosquito spray, laundry detergent, toilet paper, diapers, and especially any products safe for sensitive skin

Medications like ibuprofen/tylenol, yeast infection medicine, cold & cough medicine, any diabetic meds that can be safely shared, etc

Individually wrapped low to no prep food items, baby formula, and Gatorade

Pet Food

Sunscreen

Heavy duty bags, Duffel bags, backpacks, and trash bags, 5 gallon buckets, coolers

Fans, dehumidifiers, moisture sensors, generators, gas, gas canisters, solar charging items, portable battery banks, first aid kits

Chainsaws, crowbars, hammers, air filters, respirators, 2×4 planks, bleach, roofing nails, heavy duty gloves, and waders.

Books, Board Games or other non electric activities for children

Double check before donating items, especially if your local drive is accepting donations of particular products and can distribute the more specialized ones where they're needed.