Find help, fast.

If you are not sure who to call, call this. 211 is staffed around the clock by people whose entire job is connecting you to local help, and they have live information on what is open.

• Dial 211 from any phone
• Text your ZIP code to 898211
• Or use the website to search

Free and confidential. Interpretation is available in many languages.

Closures are changing constantly as crews clear debris and utilities work on lines. Check before you leave, not before you left.

Dial 511 or use the website. Do not check it while driving.

You do not have to be suicidal to call 988. If you are overwhelmed, panicking, cannot stop shaking, or cannot think straight after what happened, that is exactly what this line is for.

• Call or text 988 from any phone
• Chat online at 988lifeline.org
• Press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line
• Spanish-language support available

Free and confidential.

Opened 2:30 p.m. July 27 by the Winnebago County Office of Emergency Management.

Bring the four P's if you can: Pets, Pills, Purses (ID and documents) and Phones plus chargers. Only minimal necessities are stocked on site, so bring what you need for a night if it is safe to gather it.

Free transportation to the shelter is running from the former Shopko parking lot, provided by Kobussen Buses.

The injuries come from chainsaws, falls, nails through shoes, and trees under tension.

• Wear heavy work gloves, boots with a puncture-resistant sole, eye protection, long sleeves and long trousers. Hearing protection with a saw
• Never work alone, and never work in the dark
• Assume every wire is live. Do not touch a tree that is touching a line — call the utility
• Trees under tension are the real danger. A bent or leaning trunk holds enormous stored energy and can whip or roll when cut. If you are not trained, leave leaning trees, hangers and anything over your head to a professional crew
• Chainsaw rules: both hands, feet planted, never above shoulder height, never from a ladder, and know where the bar tip is at all times
• Watch for asbestos and lead in anything built before about 1980 — do not sweep or break up old siding, insulation or plaster dry. Wet it down, and consider an N95 at minimum
• Take breaks and drink water. Heat exhaustion in July while wearing full protection is a genuine risk
• Check your tetanus status before you start, not after you are cut

Crisis Cleanup is the shared hotline that faith-based and voluntary disaster organizations use to coordinate after storms. You call once, describe what you need, and your address goes onto a map that participating relief groups work from.

They can often help with: cutting and removing fallen trees, tarping a damaged roof, removing debris, and hauling out wet or destroyed contents.

This is completely free. Volunteers are not paid and will never ask you for money. Anyone who quotes you a price is not with Crisis Cleanup.

Two honest caveats: help is not guaranteed and depends on how many volunteer teams reach the area, and it can take days. Call as early as you can. Keep working your insurance claim in parallel — do not wait on volunteers.