The Salvation Army Tyler Corps Capt. Jeremy S. Walker works with other Texas divisions to respond to the flooding in Southeast Texas. (Contributed Photo)

Salvation Army of Tyler Capt. Jeremy Walker is among the volunteers in Houston, helping to coordinate response efforts after catastrophic flooding.

An Incident Management Team (IMT) from The Salvation Army Texas Division, including Walker, deployed to Houston and began coordinating response efforts in Southeast Texas. Localized flooding and the ongoing threat of severe weather has resulted in a particularly challenging situation with water levels anticipated to continue rising through the weekend.

“It is never easy to go to a disaster site and see the face of devastation. However, this is the very thing that The Salvation Army trains and prepares for and we are equipped to meet these displaced individuals in their time of great need,” Walker said. “I consider it a privilege to care for and love our neighbors the way Christ commands us, whether it’s physically, emotionally, or spiritually.”

Mobile feeding units and trained disaster teams from Tyler, Pasadena, Kerrville, Conroe, Houston Northwest, Houston Area Command and San Antonio provided meal service to impacted communities on Monday. In conjunction with the Southern Baptist Texas Convention, a feeding operation has been established at the Houston Area Command Warehouse. This central location provides access to current service locations and allows for expanding the service footprint into greater Houston as needed.

“We have quickly established our base camp of operations housed at The Salvation Army warehouse here in Houston,” said Alvin Migues, The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) Director for Texas. “This is an ideal location for loading and housing our mobile feeding units, setting up the Southern Baptist field kitchen, and accommodating our base camp facilities. Our Incident Management Team will coordinate operations from this location for the duration of the response effort.”

The 10-person IMT includes both full-time EDS professionals and trained Salvation Army Officers appointed to several locations in Texas. Walker is serving as IMT’s Operations Chief. He deployed with a local team and Tyler’s Rapid Response Unit (RRU) and is managing all direct services during this disaster relief operation, including mass feeding, provision of emergency assistance, clean-up, and recovery efforts, according to the Salvation Army’s communications team.

Captain Jenifer Phillips, from the Lufkin Corps, has been assigned as the Emotional and Spiritual Care Officer on the IMT team. Her role is to look after the emotional and spiritual well-being of storm survivors and the response team personnel.

“Today I had the privilege to pray with a young lady whose home and work location are both flooded. She works at a nursing home where all the residents have been evacuated due to rising water levels,” said Phillips. “The nursing home is now closed, and she doesn’t know when it will reopen. Not only is she worried about her own home and the damage there, but she is also unsure when she can to return to work, which is a significant financial concern. I was able to hand her a meal and a bottle of water, and we prayed together. After we prayed, she smiled and hugged me. In that moment, I was able to assure her of God’s love and care, even in the midst of this disaster.”

As of Monday, The Salvation Army has provided 2,402 meals, 1,290 drinks, 148 snacks, 48 cleanup kits, 30 hygiene kits and prayed with 137 individuals. Operations are expected to ramp up in the coming days, providing 3,500 meals daily, served from seven mobile feeding units, including the one from the Tyler Corps.

To make a donation to support The Salvation Army’s response efforts to Texas floods in May, go to helpsalvationarmy.org. For more information on The Salvation Army’s current disaster response efforts, go to www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org.