PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Floridians are still suffering from the impacts of Hurricane Milton, a week after it tore through the state.

Here in Portland, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is helping out through a call center, funded by FEMA, to provide resources and a calming presence for those who have faced the worst impacts.

They first set up their call center in 2022 during Hurricane Ian, to help connect victims to Operation Blue Roof, which provides temporary roofing for those waiting for repairs.

“The Corps made the decision in 2022 to outsource the call center to the Northwest Division with Portland, because we’re not impacted necessarily by hurricanes,” said Lieutenant Colonel David Weart, the deputy district commander.

The team of 22 volunteers started accepting calls on Tuesday, and by the end of the day, they had taken 1,400 calls. By mid-morning on Wednesday, there were nearly 1,000 calls.

Reading from a script, the volunteers take down people’s names and addresses, and get a legal ‘Right to Entry’ so that local contractors can get inside the home for repairs.

They ask questions about the damage, if there are any pets on the property, and if there is any debris blocking access to the structure.

Beyond the basics of connecting people to help, volunteers are trained to listen with kindness, holding space for whoever might be waiting on the other end of the line.

“Folks have lost everything sometimes, maybe they’re elderly and they don’t know what to do, and they need help and maybe the power’s not on,” said Mark McKay, the catastrophic response program manager. “We just try to be friendly, be that positive voice for them.”

“We’ve had several calls, people just ecstatic, praising their god or their deity for sending someone who can help in a calm voice,” Weart added.

Their Hurricane Ian call center was up for 42 days, and this time, they say they’ll be there for as long as they’re needed.

“Everyone here that’s volunteering has a very big heart, and we love to help people, that’s why we’re here, it’s why we do this kind of work, it feels great,” McKay said.