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| Volunteers at Red Cross shelter at St. Joe's on Long Island |
After
six days as a mass care shelter associate (Kitchen supervisor) at the Deer Park
shelter on Long Island I moved with our clients and staff to a brand new
shelter at St. Joseph College in Patchogue, about 20-ish miles further east on
Long Island. It was a chaotic move, as most are; we had to be out of the
Middle School we were in because school was starting the next day, but the new
shelter wasn’t up and running yet. We had school buses transport the
clients about 5:00pm, and we managed to get the rest of the staff and most of
our remaining supplies to the new shelter in jam-packed rental cars. We
walked into a big gym full of people (no cots!), where we joined staff and
clients from other shelters who were consolidating there with us as well.
At 10:30 pm (on election night) our truckload of cots arrived; what a flurry of
activity! Everyone jumped in to tear open boxes and set up cots; within
15 minutes (literally) there were over 100 cots set up and families were
settling in for the night.
The most amazing thing about this was that despite a certain
level of uncertainty and the initial scarcity of resources, everyone – clients
included – worked with phenomenally positive attitudes to make it all come
together. The picture that sticks in my mind is the gentleman in the
wheel chair, with only partial use of his hands, struggling to push a boxed cot
to the area he wanted to sleep in; our staff saw this and immediately came to
his aid, setting up his cot and getting him comfortably situated for the
night. Similar scenes happened over and over, all across the gym
floor. By about 11:30 the lights were dimmed, the noise settled down, and
everyone (except the exhausted night shift) fell into a deep sleep. The
next morning our shelter management finalized the set up and quickly had a
“by-the-book” shelter in place; head counts were
confirmed, signage increased, shift assignments adjusted, and routines
established. We are now running smoothly and working through the
challenges that are inherent in mass care sheltering; feeding without a
kitchen, showering without hot water, and (for the night shift) sleeping in the
midst of much commotion with ear plugs in and eyes covered. Through it
all the mutual support has been there, with everyone displaying a positive,
productive attitude and a sincere desire to help.
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| Client at Red Cross shelter at St. Joe's on Long Island |
The stories of our clients are heart-breaking, and almost too
difficult to write about. I have spoken to so many, most in their 50’s,
60’s, and 70’s, who have nothing left and don’t know where to turn. There
are the families with young children also, trying to get the kids to and from
school while living at a shelter miles distant from their homes (I am hearing
that the school district is to start bus service for the children soon).
I am so thankful that the 31 volunteers from WNY
(33? 34? I’m losing count) are here on the coast and doing all they can
to help people in need. Thank you!
Take care, and be safe!
Bill
