As Hurricane Isaias strengthens and moves toward the northern Gulf Coast, children and families across Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are preparing for hurricane-force winds, dangerous storm surge, flooding, and power outages.
Save the Children is already taking action.
Our U.S. Emergency Response Team, in partnership with our Mississippi team and local partners across the Gulf Coast, is on the ground and mobilizing to support children and families in communities we know well and have served for decades. As the leading and only child-focused emergency responder in the United States, Save the Children understands that families need support both before and after disaster strikes.
Ahead of the storm, Save the Children has activated our Children’s Emergency Fund to provide cash assistance to families with disabilities, helping them take critical protective actions while there is still time. Families can use this flexible support to evacuate, secure their homes, purchase food and medications, arrange transportation or temporary lodging, and meet other urgent needs. This innovative approach helps reach families who often face additional barriers during emergencies and are too often overlooked in disaster response.
Save the Children has also activated three national emergency coordination networks it leads: the Cash Coordination Coalition, the Gulf Coast Resiliency Network for Child Care Recovery, and the Safe Space Coalition. These partnerships help strengthen preparedness, coordination, and readiness for potential post-landfall needs.
Following the storm, Save the Children is ready to respond by providing emergency cash assistance, delivering child-focused supplies such as diapers, wipes, and hygiene items, support the recovery of childcare and early learning centers, and helping children and caregivers cope with the emotional impacts of disaster.
