With up to 140 mile-per-hour winds, Hurricane Helene caused great devastation not only to Florida, which was directly hit but also pummeled North Carolina, where many people lost the only homes they had ever known. However, there have been efforts put into place to help these people. Officer Joe Parello bravely volunteered to drive to North Carolina and assist those in need. Joe Parello, the School Resource officer at Harrison High School, shared his experience and interactions with the people he met during his time volunteering.
Officer Parello stated that he had watched the impacts of Hurricane Helene on the news and saw all the devastation in North Carolina. He explained, “There were a lot of people hurting and I just wanted to help.” This is what motivated his call to action gathering supplies to bring to those in need.
In total, there were six people that accompanied Officer Parello to North Carolina, including two other Harrison police officers, two Harrison firefighters, and a retired HHS physical education teacher and state champion football coach, Artie Trolio.
Parello stated that once they had arrived in North Carolina, “There were a lot of roads blocked off by police and many civilian distribution centers.” The roads were also blocked off because of dangerous water levels and fallen trees.
The distribution centers were logistic facilities that stored goods like clothing, food, and toiletries which could be dispensed to those in need. These were set up to help the devastated people who had lost everything in the storm. The Harrison contingent was directed to a facility located in a shopping center parking lot which had 50 to 100 volunteers organizing the supplies that were being dropped off.
Officer Parello and the others who came along with him stayed a total of 36 hours. However, 30 of these 36 hours were spent inside of the truck on the road traveling south. He stated that it took a total of two hours to unload all the resources once they arrived in North Carolina. After completing their mission which was the delivery of aid, they drove back home.
Officer Parello and the others met with a group called the Christian Rangers who were also delivering resources. They helped Sean, a U.S. Army veteran, who was loading his truck with supplies to take back to his town. Sean had told them that in his town, even five days after the hurricane, there were no police yet, and there were many deceased victims still in their homes or on the streets as well as a great deal of debris blocking relief efforts. He said the town did not expect power for six to eight months. He lost everything in his home.
Officer Parello said, “As a first responder you want to serve, and as an American citizen it is hard not to act when you know we have people in our country so in need of help with such limited resources. It makes you feel not only sad but also blessed and grateful that you can be part of a community that is willing to help as much as Harrison does.”
Officer Parello said that he and another group were going down to North Carolina again on Monday, October 21st. There was a town-wide effort to donate needed supplies and a collection point was set up Saturday and Sunday, October 19th and 20th, at the Downtown Harrison Fire Department.
However, Officer Parello stated that if Harrison citizens could not donate goods, they could make a monetary donation to groups like Samaritan’s Purse. This is an organization located in North Carolina that accepts financial donations. Donating the littlest bit can drastically help people. This is because winter is coming and many of the people of North Carolina live in the mountains and will be without electric power and heat for six to eight months during the bitter cold. Organizations like Samaritan’s Purse and the Red Cross can assist those in need of clothes, food, and generators that can provide heat and electricity to those without power.
Many people supported the efforts to collect physical donations at the downtown Harrison Fire Department including blankets, medical supplies, clothing, food, water and energy drinks, personal hygiene products, and so much more. Overall, Officer Parello stated that the people of Harrison were generous and really came through.
All in all, through the courageous actions of Officer Parello and others who joined him on this journey, the people of North Carolina were drastically impacted in a way that they will always remember. People they didn’t even know volunteered to help better their lives when they were struggling.
