MONTGOMERY, Ala. — With more than half a million North Carolinians impacted from the destruction of Hurricane Helene, many of those displaced are suffering with severe mental health struggles, according to Lisa Jones, an Alabama nurse who volunteered to provide aid for impacted residents.
“One lady, she had a stroke, I think (because of) the stress of the whole situation, we’re seeing a lot of that,” Jones told Alabama Daily News Thursday via telephone. “A lot of mental health needs, we were seeing people just freaking out; people lost everything.”
Jones is among eight nurses who volunteered on behalf of the Alabama Department of Public Health to travel to North Carolina to provide aid for displaced residents. Arriving on Oct. 13, Jones and her team are working 12-hour shifts at an American Red Cross shelter in Hendersonville, and will remain in the state until Nov. 4.
The eight-nurse team was sent as part of the Emergency Medical Aid Compact, an interstate agreement to provide assistance in instances of disasters, natural or otherwise…