Save the Children Stands Ready to Help Kids and Families as Strengthening Hurricane Isaias Threatens Gulf Coast

Ahead of the Storm, Global Humanitarian Organization Providing Cash Assistance to Help Families with Disabilities Prepare, Evacuate Safely

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (Oct. 8, 2026) — As Hurricane Isaias barrels toward the northern Gulf Coast, threatening communities across Mississippi, Florida and Alabama with hurricane-force winds, dangerous storm surge and heavy rainfall, Save the Children is preparing to help children and families in areas hardest hit by the strengthening storm.  

Save the Children is equipped to help deliver critical, child-focused supplies to kids and families who need them most — such as diapers, wipes, hygiene kits and more — as well as provide cash assistance to impacted families, helping them meet their most urgent needs, including food, water, gas, temporary lodging and lost income due to the storm.  

Ahead of Hurricane Isaias, Save the Children is also taking an innovative step to help families prepare before disaster strikes. Working with Special Olympics and other disability-focused partners, the global humanitarian organization is providing anticipatory cash assistance to families with disabilities — giving them flexible support before the storm arrives, when there is still time to secure their homes, evacuate, purchase medications, arrange accessible transportation or lodging, and meet other critical preparedness needs. The research-backed initiative is helping reach families who can face disproportionate barriers during emergencies and are too often overlooked in traditional disaster response.

In addition, Save the Children stands ready to help restore childcare and early learning centers that may be damaged by the storm. Its psychosocial team is also prepared to aid long-term mental health recovery efforts and help children and caregivers as they cope with the emotional impacts of a disaster.

“When a hurricane is approaching, there is an understandable focus on wind speeds, storm surge and where the storm will make landfall. But behind every forecast are children and families whose lives are about to be disrupted, and Save the Children’s focus is to make sure they are not forgotten,” said James Orlando, managing director of U.S. emergencies for Save the Children. “Children need more than a roof over their heads after a disaster. They need their parents to have the resources to keep them safe, their schools and childcare centers to reopen, and places where they can feel secure and begin to recover. With this storm, we also have a rare opportunity to act before the damage occurs. Through anticipatory cash assistance with Special Olympics and other partners, Save the Children is putting resources directly into the hands of families with disabilities before landfall, so they can make the decisions that best protect their children. That is what preparedness should look like — acting before families are in crisis, not only responding once they are.”  

Coordinating with national and state education and emergency partners, Save the Children’s emergency response staff will assess children’s most immediate needs after the storm', including whether impacted families should need safe spaces – and supplies – for children to play, learn and get a sense of normalcy after the storm.  

To speed up and strengthen childcare supports after hurricanes and emergencies, Save the Children established the Gulf Coast Resilience Network in 2021 – a partnership of childcare networks in five hurricane prone states, including Florida and Mississippi. The global nonprofit supports the network through childcare emergency preparedness training, mental health supports for children and caregivers, and rapid assistance to help childcare centers recover and reopen after a disaster.  

Save the Children has been supporting children’s most critical and long-term needs after U.S. hurricanes and emergencies since 2005, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024, as well as the devastating wildfires in Washington state and flooding in Hawaii earlier this year.

By contributing to the Children's Emergency Fund, you help Save the Children protect kids across the U.S. when disasters like Hurricane Isaias threaten families. To learn more about Save the Children, please go to www.SavetheChildren.org.

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