BOSTON – Massachusetts neighbors, longtime volunteers with the Salvation Army, are among the many helpers already in position to respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

“They come up and they say ‘when we saw your trucks pulling in, we knew the Salvation Army was here!’” Pam Houghton said.

Pam Houghton from Newburyport and Cindy Kennedy from Athol have been with the organization for more than 30 years. First to Florida for Hurricane Helene, they’re now on standby in Georgia, so they can quickly go to where they’re needed most.

“You saw the increase in the devastation heading this way. There’s a lot of areas still without any electricity,” said Kennedy. “There’s trees down on their houses. They’ve lost pretty much everything. Major damage.”

Every Salvation Army team that goes out to serve includes an emotional and spiritual care provider. They support the survivors, but also their own helpers as this back-to-back relief work over hours, days and weeks can take a toll. 

“It’s an ongoing process”

“We’re still dealing with survivors from Ian, let alone Helene, let alone Milton. So it’s an ongoing process,” said Captain Jeremy Mockabee with The Salvation Army.

During times of disaster, 100% of designated donations to The Salvation Army are used for immediate response and long-term efforts. These teams are out straight before they even return to Florida.

“Every Salvation Army truck that goes out has about 1,000 meals for lunch and 1,000 meals for dinner. And we’re coming back with empty trucks,” said Houghton.

More volunteers will leave New England this weekend, answering the call to deliver help and hope.

“If there is any silver lining in this devastation, it’s seeing people come together regardless of how much money they have in their account, regardless of race, regardless of gender, regardless of anything,” Mockabee said.

MASSACHUSETTS — Ethel Kennedy, the 96-year-old widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy and a human rights activist, has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke in her sleep Thursday morning, her grandson Joe Kennedy III said in a statement on X Wednesday.

“I wanted to let you know about my incredible grandmother, Ethel Kennedy,” the statement began. “She has had a great summer and transition into fall. Every day she enjoyed time with her children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She was able to get out on the water, visit the pier, and enjoy many lunches and dinners with family.”

Joe Kennedy III added she is now comfortable and “getting the best care possible” while surrounded by family.

“She is, as you may know, a strong woman who has led a remarkably fulfilling life,” he continued. “We are here looking after her. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.”

Ethel Kennedy was born on April 11, 1928, in Chicago, Illinois, according to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. She met Robert F. Kennedy when she was 17 years old.

“At the time, Bobby was dating Ethel’s sister, Patricia Skakel,” the museum said. “Eventually that relationship ended and Robert and Ethel started seeing each other.”

Hyannisport is known for being a second home to John F. Kennedy during his presidency, when then-attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, Ethel, and the rest of the family gathered to spend their summers, according to The Cape Cod Times.

Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles during his 1968 presidential campaign. He was 42 years old.

Sirhan Sirhan — the assassin who was 24 years old when he was convicted and had spent more than 50 years behind bars — was found suitable for release by a state board in 2021, after 15 prior denials of parole, according to The New York Times.

In a brief statement released on Twitter by her daughter, lawyer and activist Kerry Kennedy, Ethel Kennedy said at the time that Sirhan, “should not be paroled.”

In 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom decided that Sirham should not be released, and in March 2023, a California panel denied him parole again, The New York Times reported.

As an activist, Ethel Kennedy focused much of her time and energy in the 1970s on the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Project, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum said.

She later founded the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights and also co-chairs the Coalition of Gun Control.

Together, Robert and Ethel Kennedy had eleven children.

It’s a fool’s errand to guess how well a political candidate is doing in an election season by counting campaign signs posted on the lawns of potential voters.

If an outsider were dropped from space into southeastern Massachusetts and taken for a drive through Dartmouth, Acushnet, Freetown and the like, they might think they’ve arrived deep in Trump country.

From my observation, based solely upon where I’ve driven, it would appear former President Donald J. Trump has a significant advantage over Democratic challenger Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump’s signs appear to outnumber Harris’s signs by a significant amount but as usual, perception is not always reality.

A recent Trump rally sponsored by the Mattapoisett Republican Town Committee attracted over 600 supporters. Trump merch sells like hotcakes.

Massachusetts has come a long way since 2016, when Trump faced off and eventually defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton to become the 45th President of the United States. Massachusetts Trump supporters were too intimidated then to display their support for their candidate for fear of being canceled – or worse.

Though support for Trump appears to be stronger in Massachusetts than during previous runs in 2016 and 2020, don’t kid yourself as this is a Democrat stronghold, and Trump has never done well here.

Clinton collected 60.8 percent of the Massachusetts vote in 2016 to Trump’s 33.5 percent. Trump fared even worse against Joe Biden in 2022, collecting 32.1 percent of the vote to Biden’s 65.6 percent.

Trump has never had the support of statewide officeholders in Massachusetts, even though Republicans held the governor’s office in both elections. The entire delegation to Washington, D.C. is controlled by Democrats.

One loyal Trump supporter from the start, former Bristol County Sheriff Tom Hodgson, runs the Trump campaign in Massachusetts.

“We are hearing from Democrats that they are voting for Trump, and doing so with real emotion and enthusiasm,” he said.

“We have Democrats asking neighbors, who are displaying Trump yard signs where they can get one,” Hodgson said. “Of course, we are happy to accommodate.”

Trump is unlikely to carry Massachusetts in November; no Republican presidential candidate has won Massachusetts since Ronald Reagan beat Walter Mondale here in 1984.

Don’t tell that to Hodgson, who says, “We have a real shot!”