Pittsburghers have a lot of connections to Western North Carolina, so it’s natural that they want to help that region that has been devastated by Hurricane Helene.
Led by Steel City Organizing Radical Community Health, or SCORCH, many Pittsburghers are collecting what they plan to be many box trucks full of useful supplies.
The “solidarity donation drive” started Sunday and continues from 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Diamond Beach, a marina property on the Allegheny River above the Highland Park Bridge at 8008 Lock Way East in the city’s Highland Park neighborhood.
Organizers from SCORCH, an anarchist street medic collective, are looking for bottled water, food, water purification materials, battery packs and solar chargers, medication, gasoline, propane and camp stoves, and Tyvek suits, respirators and other personal protective equipment.
They’re also accepting donations of funds via the Venmo app to @ScorchCareFund (they advise, “Put Helene in the Comment.” ) Update: The new Venmo address is @PghDisasterSolidarity.
On Tuesday on their Instagram account, they announced that the first loaded truck is to depart on Wednesday, while the drive will continue “with regular supply runs for at least the next several weeks! We’ll be collecting at Diamond Beach until Friday evening, 2 p.m.-8 p.m. each day. And we have a new collection spot! Valley View Presbyterian Church in Garfield (601 N. Aiken Ave) Wednesday-Friday 2 p.m.-8 p.m.! Keep eyes out on our instagram for more information.”
SCORCH formed in 2014 to provide first aid support at protests. Since then SCORCH has gone on to host first aid trainings, start community health projects, and collaborate with collectives across the country to respond to disasters.
Members include harm reduction workers, disaster relief volunteers, herbalists, body workers, medical workers such as emergency medical technicians, nurses and physician assistants.
The group notes, “We encourage anyone interested in relief work to contribute to donation drives like this one, get involved by plugging in with mutual aid groups, and organize with friends and neighbors to meet community needs.”
Bob, a feature writer and editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is currently on strike and serving as interim editor of the Pittsburgh Union Progress. Contact him at bbatz@unionprogress.com.
