You Saved My Life!

“I haven’t had sleep in 24 hours!”

Jeanette Jay with Winging It TV's Matt Snyder at
Iroquois Middle School shelter

Jeanette Jay had been evacuated from her home in the French Quarter Mobile Park in West Seneca

Thursday evening when of the snow from the lake effect storm threatened to collapse her roof.

“There was 12 feet of snow in my driveway,” Jay said. “I left my pets behind, I had to make a decision. I’m lucky to be here.”

The emergency officials that rescued Jay bused her and almost 30 of her neighbors to the Red Cross shelter at Iroquois Middle School in Elma.

“The treatment has been out of this world,” Jay said of the volunteers who provided hot meals, a place to rest, and emotional support at the shelter. “The facilities are the best they could’ve taken people to.”

This picture gives you an idea of how much snow has
piled up on people's roofs

Jay actually came to Western New York after her Pennsylvania home was destroyed by fire years ago. However, she hadn’t needed Red Cross services until this storm, and she is grateful for all the help she's received.

“You saved my life,” she said.

65 people spent Friday night in Red Cross shelters at the Iroquois Middle School, 211 Girdle Road in Elma, and Goodell Hall, 12847 Erie Street in Irving. Volunteers continue to operate those shelters as preparations are being made for potential flooding in the next few days. Please take some time to prepare yourself and your family for possible flooding, and download the FREE Red Cross Flood App for real-time alerts and additional safety tips.