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Elvis Dumervil's Homes Protected Haitians From Hurricane Matthew, But He Needs More Help

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Hurricane Matthew has left Haiti once again in tatters.

The hurricane swept across the small Caribbean country Wednesday, leaving 842 people dead, more than 10,000 in shelters and widespread flooding and damage, per reports.

It's the country's worst humanitarian crisis since 2010, when an earthquake killed hundreds of thousands and left massive devastation.

Ravens outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil, whose parents hail from Haiti, is once again stepping up to help, but he needs assistance.

Dumervil worked with New Story, a charity devoted to helping Haiti, to construct 58 homes in a slum village in Haiti this summer. All of the homes they built survived the storm, and about a thousand natives crammed into them to find safety from Hurricane Matthew.

Other people fled to a school built by Seahawks defense end Cliff Avril, who is also of Haitian descent, but many in Haiti were not so fortunate.

"A lot of people still live in tents left over from the earthquake. Most of the tents are just gone now," Dumervil said.

"It's disturbing. It's all about education. Being from Miami, I understand hurricanes and how often they come. But Haiti just doesn't have the structure to withstand those types of things."

Dumervil has a brother still living in Haiti who he's* *been in contact with via WhatsApp. Most of his family is in Miami, which is has now also been hit by the hurricane.

Dumervil said he and New Story are still in the process of trying to survey the damage in Haiti and figure out what the next step should be. They are going to send a relief team to the site. There will be short- and long-term solutions that Dumervil funds.

After construction of the 58 homes (corresponding to Dumervil's jersey number), the Haitian government granted Dumervil and New Story more land to help develop to provide people with a better, safer home and community.

"It's fortunate that we were able to help people in this story, but there's a lot more work that needs to be done," Dumervil said.

Fans can donate directly to the relief project on New Story's website.

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