NEWS
For Immediate Release
Contact: Barry Frost, 714.832.7100, Ext. 236

Salvation Army offers support following the space shuttle Columbia disaster

Salvation Army emergency disaster personnel went into action Saturday morning offering aid and support to emergency response workers. Texas residents and a nation mourned the tragic accident that destroyed Space Shuttle Columbia. As federal, state and local officials began searching for debris from the spacecraft, Salvation Army emergency disaster service vehicles (canteens) were dispatched to provide counseling and relief services to those directly involved.

With debris from the shuttle scattered over a 200-mile radius, The Salvation Army dispatched nine canteens to assist recovery personnel in Nacogdoches, Palestine, Rusk and Lufkin, Texas. A command center has been established in Palestine, Texas, to help coordinate the relief effort. Additional Salvation Army emergency disaster units remain on standby in Texas, Louisiana and Florida to assist as needed.

Across the nation in Salvation Army corps and community centers (centers of worship and service) prayers and words of comfort were offered for the families of the seven crew members on the Columbia who lost their lives and countless people struggling with the reality of this national tragedy.

--from The Salvation Army Central Territory website