What a difference a year makes!

When the phone rings at 2am, it's usually not a good sign. That's how May 14, 2014 started for me, being awakened by a phone call that we were opening a shelter in Penn Yan in response to flooding there and in Yates County.

Of course, the Red Cross volunteers were already in action. While most normal human beings were sound asleep, before 5am they had a shelter at the Penn Yan Academy for those forced from their homes, a shelter that would remain open for six days, providing 34 overnight shelter stays.

Having been with the Red Cross for a few years, I had an idea of what was happening. But when I arrived in Penn Yan that afternoon, I was stunned by the amount of devastation in the downtown area. Streets had literally been washed away.

Driving through surrounding areas of Yates County with volunteers over the next several days, delivering water and clean up kits, it quickly became apparent that more than just downtown Penn Yan had been affected by this disaster. 

Looking back one year later, two things really stick out in my mind. I grew up close enough to Penn Yan that I spent nights at my parent's house during our response. It surprised me how much harder it was to deal with a disaster that hit so close to home. 

What didn't surprise me, however, was the work of our volunteers. As my colleague Veronica said at the time of her first disaster response, "The American Red Cross was EVERYWHERE. Volunteers from Niagara Falls to Rochester to Schuyler County to Elmira and everywhere in between mobilized in Penn Yan. They volunteered for 12 hour to sometimes 24 hour shifts at the shelter at Penn Yan Academy. Still others volunteered in the Penn Yan and surrounding communities delivering clean up kits and offering advice on what was next for those who suffered losses in the flood."

Those immediate emergency response efforts continued for three weeks, with volunteers serving over 600 meals and snacks, distributing 38 clean-kits, providing emotional support to countless people devastated by the storm and provided dozens of referrals to help the community get back their feet. 

It may be hard to believe looking at today's bright blue skies, but one year later, the people of Penn Yan and Yates County are still recovering from last spring's floods. And the Red Cross is still there, supporting the community each and every day. None of this would be possible with the incredible work of our volunteers and your generous support 365 days a year. I'm proud to be a part of this great organization, but I'm especially proud to have been there with our amazing volunteers one year ago. 

Today and always, we're #PYStrong.

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.

Still #BostonStrong

My Boston Marathon response service pin

As April 15, 2014 approached, media outlets and others began looking back at what happened in Boston, MA one year ago. The one that really got me was when I saw Leighton Jones, the Chief Disaster Officer for the Red Cross in Massachusetts and the job director for Boston Marathon bombing response, post a picture of his service pin online. I immediately put on my pin.

My memories of those tragic events started much like those of anyone who was not there. I followed the news of the bombings at the finish line on social media, and immediately reached out to a friend running the race to make sure she was okay. Four days later, though, I was on a plane to Boston to join in the Red Cross response, landing while the city was locked down during the manhunt for one of the suspects.

That flight was an experience I'll never forget, but what I'm really thinking about one year later is the people. First, the Red Crossers I was privileged to work with. Many of the Boston staff and volunteers were a part of the race, either running or supporting first aid stations during the Marathon, but they all put their personal grief aside to help the community. I remember how much everyone there appreciated the work of our own Disaster Mental Health lead volunteer, Tara Hughes, who helped set up the Family Support Center and used her experience to share vital tips for coping with the tragedy to the entire community. Another Western New York Disaster Mental Health volunteer, Dominic DiGirolamo, was my roommate in Boston and even though we cannot share the details, I will never forget the stories of the incredible work he did for the family of fallen M.I.T. officer Sean Collier.

Probably my greatest memory, though, is how resilient the Boston people were, and how thankful they were for our support. Two images really stick in my head. First, at a vigil at the scene of the bombing one week later, seeing a woman wearing a Boston Marathon shirt crying in the arms of a friend, and silently handing them tissues. The other is walking back to the Chapter following the memorial service for Officer Collier. Not once, but twice, an officer directing traffic noticed my Red Cross shirt and thanked me for being there. Each time I responded, "No, thank you," but those moments are why I am still so proud to have been a small part of our response.

That response continues one year later, as mental health volunteers share tips for dealing with the emotions this anniversary might stir up. Fleet Feet Sports and the American Red Cross will hold a special blood drive in commemoration of the Boston Marathon Bombings on Tuesday, April 15 from 2pm-7pm at Fleet Feet Sports at The Armory, 155 Culver Road in Rochester. If you can't make it there, consider donating blood at another drive to help hospital patients in need as a healing moment. Personally, I'm marking this solemn occasion by remembering everyone that makes #BostonStrong a reality.

Remembering Flight 3407

Five years ago tonight, I was working in the sports office of a Buffalo television station when one of our "regulars" called and said that a plane had crashed near his home in Clarence. I took that information to our news desk and was told they had little information but a crew was on the way. I went back to my sports office and tuned in the live shot, waiting for the pictures of what I assumed to be a small plane crash to be sent back to the newsroom. When the crew arrived and a picture came up, I said, "Oh my God, that's a Continental tail." The rest of the evening, and really the next several days, were a blur as we learned more about the Crash of Flight 3407.

Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Volunteer Sister Martha Olszewski got a call about a small plane crash that evening. She was eventually asked to report to the Senior Center on Broadway, which was where the Family Support Center--a private location for family members of the 50 people on-board Flight 3407 to receive information--was set up, and where she worked through the evening until 10am the next morning.

"It was just talking to family members about loved ones on the plane," Sr. Martha said. "Just doing my 'Sister Martha' thing, serving coffee and donuts, talking to the people who needed it."

Flight 3407 Memorial in Clarence Center, NY

That was Sr. Martha's only real contact with the family in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. She spent the next 14 days working at the Clarence Fire Hall, supporting coroners, fire, police and other first responders that were on the scene. In the five year since Flight 3407, she has worked with the family support group, and says this anniversary is difficult on everybody.

"Every time you come to a significant year, it becomes more intense. Five years seems like yesterday," she says. "They have worked through some of their grief, but there's still an empty hole they're dealing with."

Both Sister Martha and NYS Disaster Mental Health Lead Tara Hughes will speak about their efforts as part of the Red Cross response to the tragedy during tonight's vigil to remember the victims of Flight 3407.

"The families designed this ceremony not only to remember the lives lost, but also to thank everyone for their assistance during their time of need," Sr. Martha said.

The thoughts of all of us at the Red Cross are with the families of Flight 3407 on this difficult day, and we thank the volunteers like Sr. Martha and Tara who allow us to be a small part of the supporting community.