Jennifer Garner Does Her Part, Visits Families Affected By Flood

Amid constant speculation that she and estranged husband Ben Affleck are putting their divorce on hold, as the International Business Times shares, Jennifer Garner continues to do her part by supporting families who were affected by recent flooding.

Jennifer Garner, Save the Children launch effort to aid in flood relief https://t.co/ArRFxGQDys

— WSAZ NewsChannel 3 (@WSAZnews) July 8, 2016

Only weeks after massive flooding devastated Garner’s home state, the star visited with Elkview families who were severely impacted by the storm. Jen, who attended George Washington High School in the community, shared how she perceived the families she met during her trip. Garner referred to those affected as “strong and resilient,” the Charleston Gazette-Mail relays.

“I can’t tell you how many people today already have told me, ‘I’m fine, we’re fine,’ and I look around and think, ‘You’re fine, but it’s a mess,” she said. “You keep being fine, and let us help with the mess.”

To begin her visit, the star first stopped at a distribution center and Herbert Hover High School for the purpose of experiencing up close just how terrible the damage. She also wishes to become fully aware of the needs of those who have been impacted in the surrounding communities. Jen then paid a visit to a child care center, where she made note of the importance of “psychological health for children affected by the flooding” as well as how an organization that she partners with, Save the Children, works to ensure children receive the emotional support they need.

The publication goes on to relay what Save the Children seeks to do on the whole and why Garner is such an advocate for the organization.

“Save the Children is an organization dedicated to making sure children are protected and able to continue healthy development. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the organization has served more than 1 million U.S. children affected by emergencies.”

Several families of Come Grow with Me, which is a center that Save the Children has focused efforts on, lost their homes to flooding. On Saturday, Jennifer Garner was invited to the center to speak about her own experiences. The actress played with finger paints and read books to children while she spoke to them about their own stories since the flooding. She also discussed how to handle the emotional impact the experience had on them in a positive way.

Retweeted Save the Children US (@SavetheChildren):

Jennifer Garner urges support for children’s flood relief… https://t.co/pAmjn7Lgyg

— NWParsons (@nwparsons) June 28, 2016

As the publication states, the health officer and commissioner of the Bureau of Public Health, Dr. Rahul Gupta, noted that trauma children experience from events such as these often goes unnoticed.

“Psychological trauma is important and needs to be addressed as part of the public health response,” Gupta said. “We have been working with crisis and intervention teams and organizations, like Save the Children, to make sure that we do everything we can to sort of intercept it.”

Gupta also spoke with Garner about the benefit of this mission and what has been done by Save the Children to assist youth through the difficulties.

“It makes me feel a little more safe to know that this organization that I love is taking this so seriously and saying, ‘How can we make kids more safe? How can we make them more whole? How can we help their psycho-emotional fears after this?'”

Prior to her visit to the center, Garner shared about how the visit impacted her own view of such devastation.

“You can see things in the media, but they don’t seem real because we see devastation all the time but you kind of grow inured to it. When you see it here with your own eyes and you see the faces of people who have experienced it, who are fighting their way through it, who are figuring things out and who still have a smile on their face…”

[Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]