“I have a small, assisted living business, managing two adult family homes in north Spokane. On Saturday, I was doing my errands and one of my caregivers called me and said that we’ve been told to evacuate. I knew there were fires and a lot of smoke, but I didn’t know that it was going to affect our area. They told us to go to the shelter at the convention center.”
From there, Rose Chebe prepared her residents, staff of
caregivers and her own family to transition to the American Red Cross evacuation
shelter at the Spokane Convention Center.
“We got everybody in the cars and they told us to go to the convention center. We had 12 of my residents, caregivers and my husband, daughter and I. Everybody panicked. Then we met Miss Wanda.”
Wanda Martinez-Johncox serves as a Community Disaster
Program Specialist in the Greater Rochester chapter in the Western New York
region. Before starting her role in 2019, she served as a Greater Rochester
Board member and Red Cross volunteer for six years, deploying to disasters big
and small here at home and across the country.
She is now one of hundreds of Red Cross disaster workers providing
safe shelter, meals and snacks, health and mental health support and relief
items to those affected by the devastating wildfires in Spokane, Washington.
“It’s one Red Cross. Without being a volunteer first, I
couldn’t have understood what it’s like to be on the ground and deploy. I use
what I learned as a volunteer. I’m just trying to make them comfortable. Even
if it’s just a hug or a laugh. Simple things like that make it more comfortable
because it’s hard. I’m just grateful to be here to help out. We’re here for
you.”
Two elderly members of Chebe’s group required a medical bed to
help keep them elevated during their stay. While she was able to find housing for
everyone after a two-night stay at the shelter, Chebe says the support provided
to them by the Red Cross and people like Wanda was a blessing.
“She made it easier to be out of our homes and comfortable.
It makes me feel good that we have somebody that caring. That’s what you need
when you transition to a place like this. In a disaster, you don’t know where
to start but when you meet good people like Wanda, it makes you feel
comfortable. She has a big heart, she’s in the right job.”
Amid renewed alerts for potential evacuations, Chebe was back
at the shelter a few days later – this time, however, just to embrace someone
she now calls a lifelong friend.
“I came to see Miss Wanda. This is my girl. She can come back
and visit me because without her I don’t know how we would’ve done it.”
The Red Cross continues to support relief efforts in Spokane
and respond to multiple states to support the families and communities impacted
by other massive fires burning across the West.
You can help support families depending on the Red Cross for assistance now by making a donation or signing up to volunteer at redcross.org
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