United is the wayto build a resilient community

When disaster strikes, United Way Space Coast staff and community volunteers step up to coordinate recovery efforts and raise funds for neighbors in need. Thanks to the generosity of our community, we can quickly mobilize our network of partner agencies and resources, so people know where to turn and how to get help after a natural disaster.

Be Prepared: Sign up for Brevard County Emergency Alerts

Need Help Now? Call 2-1-1 or 321.632.6688 for shelters, food, clean-up help and more.

Has your home been damaged or flooded? If your home has been damaged or flooded by the rain, please use the form to help Brevard County Emergency Management assess community impacts and guide recovery efforts. This form is not an application for assistance.

Four Ways United Way Supports Disaster Relief and Recovery

Disaster Relief Funds

In a disaster, financial support is the fastest way to help. As soon as an emergency begins, United Way rallies our corporate partners and individual donors to launch a disaster-specific relief fund, raising dollars that go straight to local relief efforts.

A dedicated emergency fund lets United Way quickly support emergency shelters and feeding operations, meals for first responders and volunteers in the field, and clean-up efforts and supplies, and it raises funding for long-term outreach to families facing major damage.

Immediate Response and Information Sharing

United Way’s Annual Campaign and emergency response funds support critical lifelines like the American Red Cross emergency relief program and the 2-1-1 information hotline.

2-1-1 is the region’s front door for help and information. Right after a disaster, 2-1-1 begins taking intake calls from affected residents, recording damage and flooding and reporting it in real time to local, regional and state emergency management agencies. At the same time, 2-1-1 connects people to shelters, food, flood clean-up and home repair assistance, transportation and more.

Red Cross shelters and crisis relief provide food and a safe haven in the immediate aftermath, and Red Cross mobile response vehicles bring support where it is needed most.

Volunteer Mobilization

After a disaster, people want to help. United Way connects them with meaningful ways to give their time. As part of the Brevard County Emergency Management network, United Way serves as Emergency Support Function 15 (ESF-15), managing volunteers and donations during and after emergencies.

During or right after an incident, United Way sets up donation and volunteer sign-ups to collect and organize offers of help. Once local distribution sites are confirmed, we send teams of volunteers to staff them in the affected areas.

Because we have built a network of volunteers ready to step in during an emergency, we can quickly share urgent needs, like clean-up help. Our nonprofit partner agencies can also request disaster relief volunteers to support their own efforts.

Long-Term Recovery

Recovery continues long after a disaster event. United Way leadership and staff serve on the Brevard Long Term Recovery Coalition (BLTRC), which oversees private donations and government funding for disaster recovery in the months, and even years, after a disaster.

United Way Space Coast serves as the fiscal agent, helping manage and account for the funds raised, grants awarded and projects funded by the coalition.

Brevard County was one of the first communities to establish a long-term recovery coalition, during the 2004 hurricanes, and it has served as a model for other communities. Since then, the coalition has been activated as needed to provide ongoing support to residents across the Space Coast after a disaster strikes.

Working together, we mobilize the community to help our neighbors in need and build a more resilient Brevard.