Update on Our Hurricane Response
Applications for Hurricanes Helene and Milton are now closed.

Cases are processed in the order in which they were received. We are distributing weekly updates regarding processing time; please watch for emails from our team!

If you applied for assistance unrelated to these disasters, we are working as quickly as possible to process your case. Please reach out to your case manager directly or casemanagement@southernsmoke.org for any updates. Thank you for your patience during this time of unprecedented volume.

We are so grateful for the outpouring of support, and thanks to generous donors, to date we have granted $699,500 to 487 F+B workers affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton with 2,500 more being processed.

Seetha Kulandaisamy

Case Manager

Seetha is a compassionate advocate fiercely committed to community well-being. As a native Houstonian with an immigrant upbringing, she finds meaning in building a deep understanding of her clients’ unique and varied experiences. She values a non-judgmental, empathic approach and transparent communication to build trusting relationships and ensure effective advocacy.

After studying Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin, she began as a case manager at the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) which guided the trajectory of her career and purpose. She went on to advocate in a similar role with SAFE Alliance’s transitional housing program for survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual assault & human trafficking. As a housing advocate, she provided trauma-informed support services to individuals facing chronic homelessness and assisted clients on their journey towards safe, stable housing & self-sufficiency. She continued her work with the Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV) training professionals in the justice system on survivor-centered best practices and fighting for policy that addressed the true needs of survivors statewide. After returning to Houston and taking some time to herself, she is thrilled to reignite her advocacy work with SSF.

She spends her spare time nose-deep in literature, hunting down the best new music from around the world, binging reality TV or catching arthouse flicks with her friends, teaching her niece and nephew bad dance moves, volunteering with Food Not Bombs HTX, pretending like she can cook and/or dodging affectionate body slams from her cat Kulfi.