Accentuate the Positive

You may have seen and heard some negative stories surrounding the two-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy's landfall. The American Red Cross has responded to the reporting done by ProPublica and NPR (some of those responses can be found here, here and here), but it is still very difficult for those of us who were there not to take these stories personally. As my friend and volunteer Pete Swales, who spent 39 days working on the Sandy response, told me, "What ProPublica and NPR claim hurts terribly, and brings back all the ruination we witnessed and the amazing gratitude of the New Yorkers, even those that were not affected!"

What was left Michael O'Hanlon's Breezy Point home
after Superstorm Sandy

The last part of that sentence is what I want to focus on, the incredible work that I personally witnessed during my two weeks in NYC in November 2012. I think back to Miss Cynthia in the Rockaways, who was so grateful for the efforts of the nearly 17,000 volunteers who worked on the Sandy response that she told my colleague Katie and I, "You shouldn't be called the Red Cross. You should all be called angels." Or being interrupted while speaking to a union meeting by Michael O'Hanlon, who said, "The Red Cross is awesome!" He later showed my colleague Julie and I the pictures of what remained of his Breezy Point home, explaining that we had provided the only hot meals his family had eaten since swimming out of their home three weeks earlier. I am so proud to have been just one of the hundreds of Western and Central New Yorkers who have their own stories of traveling to help our downstate neighbors in need, and each of those incredible volunteers should remember the millions of people who were so grateful they were there to help them.

You may have also heard that the Red Cross is currently undergoing a transition in order to meet the growing demand for our services. While this will allow us to help even more people because we are operating more efficiently, changes such as these are never easy. But thanks to our amazing volunteers and supporters, the great work of the Red Cross continues in our communities each and every day. Last Tuesday, for example, two hours after arriving on the scene of an early-morning apartment fire in Niagara Falls, our volunteers had opened a shelter for the dozens of displaced families, without ever having stepped foot in the Niagara Falls office.

An Emergency Response Vehicle distributes supplies and
information to areas around Penn Yan hard-hit by flooding
in May

We know this new structure can work because it has already. In September 2013, the Yates County Chapter in Penn Yan was closed. Less than a year later, that area was affected by massive flooding. "We weren't happy when the office closed," Yates County Deputy EMO Diane Cabes told me. "But you were there when you needed to be, providing very beneficial services that were very appreciated." Those services included opening a shelter at the Penn Yan Academy in the initial hours after the storm's impact, then providing a total of 34 overnight shelter stays, serving serving over 600 meals and snacks, distributing 238 clean-up kits and providing emotional support and referrals to help the community get back on its feet in the weeks that followed.

"Disasters don't always happen where offices and staff are," said volunteer Donna Davis, who was among the first to respond in Penn Yan while water was still running through the streets. "Staff and volunteers know what to do. Regardless of where a disaster happens, if there's a need, the volunteers will be there."

That's the message that I hope everyone remembers moving forward. The Red Cross has the most incredible volunteers and supporters, and thanks to them, each of our communities will be able to count on us to provide these vital services tomorrow and for years to come.

Sorry, Jimmy Griffin!

Volunteers Pete Peterson and Mary Walker at a shelter
in Southwestern New York

During the Blizzard of 1985, former Buffalo Mayor Jimmy Griffin said, "Stay inside, grab a six-pack and watch a good football game." Unfortunately, during the "Polar Vortex" of 2014, our staff and volunteers from across the Western New York and Finger Lakes Regions haven't exactly had time to do that.

In Rochester, we opened nine shelters as part of the City's "Heat Sweep" program. Working in the 50 Prince Street office, it was amazing to see how quickly the volunteers came together to honor this request from City Hall to help our neighbors in need. On the western end of our region, staff and volunteers opened shelters in Ripley and Irving to help travelers stranded by Thruway and other road closures come in out of the cold. Over 70 people spend Monday night at Red Cross shelters, and warming stations were also opened in Wellsville and Cuba.

Of course, our response to this winter weather didn't end with sheltering. In Rochester, a reporter called me about an international family stranded at the airport by flight diversions and cancellations until Friday. Our emergency services team worked with the airline to ensure this story had a happy ending.

Coffee and water ready for residents at Gantt Center shelter
in Rochester (courtesy of Wegmans)

And much like the post office, neither snow nor bitter cold can stop our volunteers from helping those in need after a fire. We provided assistance including Disaster Mental Health services to three survivors of a fire in Niagara Falls, helped 11 people after an Orchard Park apartment fire, and 11 people--including some who were apparently part of a heroic rescue effort by first responders--in Middleport. Whether or not our bitter cold weather was a factor in these incidents, the Western New York and Finger Lakes Regions have responded to 10 fires since Monday, helping over 50 people who lost everything in the blink of an eye.

We are only able to provide this vital service to the community because of your support, so THANK YOU to all or our supporters, and of course the volunteers who braved the elements to help our neighbors in need this week. And don't worry, we're still ready to respond if necessary after the upcoming flood watch as well!

Niagara Falls Volunteer Leaving Friday for Third Sandy Relief Deployment

Mike Hoplight one of 44 WNY volunteers deployed since storm hit

Mike Hoplight serving at the Manhattan headquarters
of the American Red Cross in Greater NY in Nov. 2012

BUFFALO, NY, January 4, 2013 – Volunteer Mike Hoplight of Niagara Falls will be deploying Friday to assist in the ongoing Superstorm Sandy relief efforts of the American Red Cross for a third time. Hoplight will be flying out of the Buffalo Niagara International Airport at 3pm on his way to Princeton, NJ, where he will work in Government Operations.

Hoplight first deployed three days before Sandy’s landfall in New York State to help lead the Red Cross response, working in both Shelter Management and Government Operations before returning home after 20 days. Following a short, five-day break, Hoplight returned downstate to assist those affected by this devastating storm for an additional 23 days, including Thanksgiving, serving as an Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) Manager.

Hoplight has been on more than 15 disaster deployments during more than a decade as a Red Cross volunteer. In September 2011, he served as Shelter Manager at a mega-shelter at SUNY Binghamton that had more than 1,700 residents following Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, and in early 2012 Hoplight spent over four months at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan serving as Assistant Station Manager as part of Red Cross Services to Armed Forces.

44 Red Cross volunteers from the Western New York region have deployed to assist in the relief efforts since Sandy devastated the East Coast in late October, and seven of them, including Hoplight, have done multiple deployments. Approximately 1,000 Red Cross workers are still on the ground supporting survivors as longer-term recovery efforts begin. Red Cross caseworkers are working with thousands of people to connect them with resources to help them recover from Sandy’s devastation. In addition, to date the Red Cross has distributed more than 6.7 million relief and clean-up items and provided more than 9.6 million meals and snacks since Sandy came ashore. For more information regarding the Red Cross response to Sandy, please click here.

A Taste of Home

When I worked in the media, we always joked that no matter what the story, there was ALWAYS a Western New York connection. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that this was the first thing I saw when heading out to a bulk distribution site on Brooklyn's Brighton Beach:

Yep, that's our Emergency Response Vehicle from Niagara Falls getting ready to serve a hot meal to  residents still devastated almost three weeks after the storm, one of over 300 Red Cross vehicles working on the Sandy response. The volunteers inside weren't WNYers, at least not this time, but it's yet another example of The City (or should that be region?) of Good Neighbors coming through for those in need.

Brighton Beach is one of 15 fixed sites across New York City where the Red Cross is serving meals and water and distributing comfort and clean up kits with things like blankets, flashlights, mops and buckets this weekend. As of Friday, over 2.1 million relief items had been distributed and over 6.1 million meals and snacks have been served, and those numbers are going to continue to jump. In addition to Brighton Beach, I also visited a site at Red Hook, and was struck by the size of the line.

It's pretty clear that this response is going to last a long time. If you want to help, please visit www.redcross.org, call 1-800-REDCROSS or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to charge a $10 donation to your phone bill. The people here still need your help.