Seizing the Moment: Lessons Learned in the Wake of Unspeakable Tragedy

 New York City—American Red Cross, November, 2001

            In November of 2001, I went down to NYC as a volunteer for the American Red Cross. How to describe the NYC experience other than to say it was interesting and intense? That latter two are the polite and short answers, but there is more.

I am glad I went and I feel it was right, for whatever reason, for me to be there. The guys I worked with were great and taught me a lot as we laughed together, a really great team. It showed me how good a working relationship could be.

While I was in New York City, I spent most of my time assisting the Logistics Officer in Headquarters for DR 848, which is the disaster number for American Airlines Flight 587, the plane that crashed into the Queens neighborhood on November 12, 2001. I wrote reports, figured out their compute system, ordered and tracked supplies and cars, and made phone calls to city officials. At one point we left headquarters to provide assistance during the prayer service for the victim’s families. It felt good to be given the chance to reach out and help the people affected.  It gave me the opportunity to fill the classic Red Cross role of putting blankets around their shoulders and giving them food.

While we were in NYC we received full access badges to Ground “Hero,” which is what people in New York call the site of the World Trade Center. I went twice, the second time getting right to the edge of the pit. One guy called it looking into the jaws of hell. The enormity of the destruction is incomprehensible, much different from what you see on TV (which makes it all look like just another movie set). I visited a little church just across the street that somehow survived the towers collapse with not a touch of damage (the “miracle” church). The inside of the church was almost completely covered with drawings and messages from people. The extent and amount of the outpouring of people's expressions is as enormous and as difficult to assimilate as the extent of the evil witnessed in the damage outside.  The juxtaposition of the two is very thought provoking. I'm not sure I've quite processed it all yet. Nor do I think the fireman I talked with have processed it either. They seemed shell-shocked. The hardest job must have been the ambulance person, standing at attention next to her stretcher. Do you hope for a recovery, to be busy and involved, or do you not hope because that means another life lost will bring sorrow to their family? How difficult to just stand by and wait.

            Meanwhile, outside the church was a quiet little cemetery full of headstones and trees. The trees’ branches still hold trash from the collapse. The stones are so old (from 1700s) you cannot read many of the names. As you look across that restful patch of ground in the midst of the hustle of the city, you find yourself looking at a spot lit backdrop of massive twists of steel and cement being demolished by construction crews. Both people and machines look minuscule in comparisons to the enormous piles they are working on removing.

And you know that most of the people under the stones died quietly in their beds with their families near by and the people beyond died horribly from evil caught unexpectedly in the midst of their daily morning routines. And the names of the one are gone and the names of the other may never be known. Both names put on stone, like Ozymandius, mean nothing. The end result is the same.

            What can each of us learn from this? To be prepared for whatever comes in the next second, hour, day, or year. To realize that evil is equally countered by good if we remember look for the latter in the quiet corners. To believe that miracles can and will happen no matter how bad things appear at first glance. To know that how we will be remembered is by how we touch people today. It is people's memories of us and our actions that will bring each of us true immortality, not our name on a stone.

Most importantly, we should remember not to seize the day or the hour, but to seize the moment and hold it tight for it will be gone and replaced by we know not what. Each of us needs to keep these moments to sustain us. As T.S. Elliot said in the appropriately titled “The Waste Land:”

            “These fragments I have shored against my ruins…

            Shantih”

                                                                        By Kathleen E. Rourke

                                                                        December 2001

 

Kathleen Rourke is the Red Cross community volunteer leader in Tompkins County, Spiritual Care lead and Disaster Action Team member with more than 20 years of experience

Fire! When DAT’s Diane Met Blood Service’s Thaddeus

It was 3AM when Thaddeus Nauden noticed the flames licking at his window. Was this just a bad dream? Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The home that Thaddeus had carefully designed and furnished — including his newly installed hardwood floors — was aflame. In minutes he was on the front lawn, filming a video in disbelief. Thankfully, help was on the way.

Across the city, Diane Sargent was springing into action, ready to help those in her community.   A twenty-year veteran of the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT), Diane was no stranger to late-night fire calls.   Originally, she’d thought the Red Cross was just for blood donations — something we hear quite often — and was intrigued to learn about our wider mission. Disaster action pro

Disaster Action Team volunteer, Diane Sargent, (L)
with Laurie Hagen  at the George R. Brown
Convention Center in Houston, TX during the
response to Hurricane Harvey

ved to be her calling, and now, she’s completed over 80 deployments to disaster zones across the country. You too may be familiar with the Red Cross’s response to large-scale disasters, setting up shelters and distributing supplies to affected communities. But often, our DAT volunteers face much more intimate scenes of devastation: house fires.

Volunteering with DAT, Diane says, equips her to be able to deal with large groups of people in need. Thankfully, those skills are very transferrable to one-one-one communication — so, en route to the fire, Diane called Thaddeus. She wanted to make sure he was holding up OK and comfortable meeting face-to-face. During the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining physical distancing is an important part of keeping safe. DAT volunteers have to make sure they’re not endangering anyone they’re there to help.

This wouldn’t be Thaddeus’s first encounter with the Red Cross.  In fact, he had started as a volunteer in 2010, and signed on as a Blood Services employee in 2012. In his role, Thaddeus makes sure that hospitals have enough blood for important operations. From organizing blood drives to managing the logistics that link donors to patients, Blood Services is a critical part of the Red Cross. On the night that Thaddeus’s home caught fire, these two parts of the Red Cross — Blood Services and DAT — came together when Diane arrived on the scene. One awkward, pandemic-friendly greeting later, and Diane put her DAT training into action.

Beginning anew after a house fire is hard and losing everything can be catastrophic. It’s why Red Cross’s DAT teams act quickly to offer immediate assistance for those needing housing, food, and clothes. The services offered to the community by DAT, which also include emotional support and referrals to help with long-term recovery, are so often surprising that even Thaddeus, an employee of the Red Cross, was amazed at how much Diane and her team were able to provide.

We talked with Thaddeus about his plans for rebuilding. You can picture him with a smile as he verbally sketches out his next play — a new house, of course — but one that’s a little less lavishly outfitted. He loved the support he received from not only DAT, but his co-workers too, including Vicki Smith.

If you’ve just become aware of the critical work DAT does responding to house fires, consider volunteering Emergencies don’t stop, and you can help the Red Cross continue to our lifesaving mission during this public health emergency by donating at www.redcross.org.

Story by: Tim Snedden, American Red Cross

Communications Volunteer

FDNY Heeds the Call in South Carolina

Editors note: Chief Communications Officer Jay Bonafede is one of 22 Western and Central New York Region volunteers who have been have been part of the flood relief efforts in South Carolina:

FDNY DART team members assess the flood damage outside
a home on Jackson Bluff Road in Conway, S.C, where the
roadway is still partially flooded weeks after the storm. 

“Tell us what you need, we’ll get it done.”

Doug Bainton and the other members of the New York City Fire Department’s Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) have been getting it done as Red Cross partners for 25 years. Currently, 13 active duty and retired FDNY members are in South Carolina, where they’ve been providing relief and comfort to people after this month’s historic flooding since they arrived on October 12.

“This is kind of what we do,” Bainton says. “We help people for a living. This is just another way of doing it.”

This unique partnership began during Hurricane Hugo in 1989, when the Red Cross made a request for Spanish-speaking volunteers. Some FDNY members were able to help, and a year and a half later, they formed a response team made up entirely of firemen. Over the past 25 years, Bainton says the DART team has helped the Red Cross respond to disasters in every state in the union.

“It’s a way to give back,” Bainton said. “9/11 was obviously a big deal for us, something that will never go away. Half the world has already forgotten what happened here in South Carolina. We understand what that’s like.”

FDNY DART team members leave Red Cross relief supplies
outside a home in the Lee’s Landing neighborhood of
 Conway, S.C., where yards remain underwater weeks
 after flood waters reached their highest points.

The DART team members--who donate their FDNY vacation time to deploy to these disaster sites--have done everything from driving Emergency Response Vehicles to running warehouses during their 25 years as Red Cross response partners. On Thursday, the DART team did disaster assessment and brought clean-up supplies to residents in Lee’s Landing and other Conway, S.C. neighborhoods that remain so water-logged, one of the team’s vehicles became temporarily stuck in the mud.

“We’re often the first agencies to bring help to these people. That’s important,” Bainton said of the DART team and the Red Cross. “We get a lot of hugs. Grown men will sometimes start crying, and then you start crying. All they need is that minute, and then they’re fine. And they’re so grateful someone is helping them. That’s why we come back.” 

They’re #SCStrong, but Browns Ferry, S.C. Still Needs Help

Editors note: Chief Communications Officer Jay Bonafede is one of 22 Western and Central NY Volunteers who have been a part of the flood relief efforts in South Carolina. 

All of Robert Linnen’s furniture and carpeting are now sitting destroyed on his front lawn in Browns Ferry, Georgetown County, S.C.. You can see the water line on the end table. 

Linnen shows how high the flood waters rose on
 his Browns Ferry front porch. At one point, there was
 over a foot and a half of water inside his home.

The storm took place three weeks ago, but in the Browns Ferry neighborhood of Georgetown County, South Carolina, evidence of the historic flooding earlier this month remains readily apparent.

“We lost everything,” said Robert Linnen from his front porch on Mae Place. In the front yard lay all of his carpeting and furniture, destroyed by water from the crested Black River.

“There was a foot and a half inside the house,” he says. “Every day, it got higher and higher.”

“Never thought this could happen,” said Linnen’s neighbor, Cliff Ford. “We heard the warnings, but thought, ‘we’ll be okay’.”

Ford’s home was unaffected by the flooding, and Linnen’s family has been staying with his mother-in-law, whose home also stayed dry. However, the entire Browns Ferry neighborhood was cut off by the floods. For weeks, area residents only access to food and water was emergency supplies distributed at a local church. The area is just now becoming accessible, and Red Cross disaster assessment teams and caseworkers are beginning to go door to door to meet with the families and help them begin the long road to recovery.

District 2 Job Director Rick Schou meets with Browns Ferry
resident Robert Linnen to do disaster assessment of
his flooded home. Schou will send caseworkers to meet
with Linnen and his neighbors to help them begin the
recovery process. 

“It means a whole lot,” said Cliff. “Sometimes, people forget that we’re here. But we need help, and it’s just a blessing to have you people here and caring for us.”

Meet John Dowd

Volunteer John Dowd of Auburn recently returned from Oklahoma, one of over a dozen Western and Central NY volunteers who have deployed in the past month to help in Red Cross relief efforts following severe weather across the country. The public affairs team in Oklahoma caught up with John on his last day with the operation:

John Dowd on assignment in Oklahoma

ARDMORE, OK June 19, 2015 -- Standing in the doorway of the Ardmore Red Cross office, John Dowd extends his hand and offers a warm welcome to fellow Red Crossers walking through the front door.

"Hello there, I'm John.  Nice to meet you. Welcome!" His blue eyes beaming sincerely smiling.

John is a caseworker for the Red Cross.

After Tropical Storm Bill, John accepted the opportunity to deploy.  Accepted the challenge of uprooting his life, putting his personal affairs on pause.  He accepted the challenge to help those suffering in Oklahoma.

One community impacted, Ardmore. He's responded and assisted families who were hit hard by the heavy rain the damaging flood waters.

Two weeks.

Fourteen days.

Today he's heading back.  Today he's going home to New York. Syracuse.

"I guess...I feel a connection with Oklahoma now.  I'm going to go home, but Oklahoma will always be with me.  We gave them a little hope I think," he said, removing his Red Cross hat as he wiped his brow.

"I'm looking forward to seeing my dog again," he continued, taking out his phone, flipping through photos of a delighted Beagle.

What makes the Red Cross one of the world's most prestigious non-profits is its ability to respond to disasters. Its ability to mobilize volunteers at a moment's notice.  John exemplifies that power -- a volunteer from New York responding to assist those suffering.

There are countless volunteers like John making a difference helping those impacted by disasters stand on their feet again.

For more on the Red Cross response to recent storms, visit http://www.redcross.org/news-events/news?tag=Severe+Weather+2015. To learn how you can help by becoming a Red Cross volunteer, visit http://www.redcross.org/ny/syracuse/volunteer

Volunteers Deploying to help in Flooding, Wildfire Relief Efforts

Two volunteers from the Western and Central New York Region are deploying this week to assist in American Red Cross relief efforts across the country.

Lorraine Morris of Bath, NY is deploying to Alaska Friday, where she will serve in Disaster Services Technology/Computer Operations in the response to recent wildfires. 

Herbert Wolfe of Rochester traveled to Louisiana Thursday to serve as Disaster Assessment Manager in the flood relief efforts. Wolfe will take teams into some of the hardest hit areas to assess the need and make sure relief is provided where it is needed most.

Lockport, NY's Diane Sargent in Oklahoma in May 2015

Across the country, relentless rain and raging wildfires have forced people from their homes, and the Red Cross is there providing support and comfort. Just this week alone, the Red Cross has helped people in 14 states affected by floods and wildfires.  Almost 250 people impacted by the flooding and fires spend Wednesday night in Red Cross shelters in Texas, Alaska, California, Arizona, Indiana and Idaho. Over the past few weeks, more than 2,790 trained Red Cross workers have served more than 590,000 meals and snacks, distributed 150,000 relief items and opened more than 85 shelters, providing 3,400 shelter stays.

HOW TO HELP A donation to Red Cross Disaster Relief can help provide food, water and shelter for someone who has to leave their home. Help people affected by disasters like floods, wildfires and other emergencies by making a gift to Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. To donate, people can visit www.redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

DOWNLOAD THE EMERGENCY APP The Red Cross “Emergency” app can help keep you and your loved ones safe by putting vital information in your hand for more than 35 different severe weather and emergency alerts, including flooding and wildfires. You can find it in smartphone app stores by searching for American Red Cross or going to redcross.org/apps.

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.

American Red Cross Contributes an Initial $6 Million to Support Typhoon Response Efforts in Philippines

WNY/Finger Lakes Regions initiate family tracing services

BUFFALO, NY, November 14, 2013 - The American Red Cross has announced an initial contribution of $6 million in support of the global Red Cross response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. These funds will be used to distribute relief items, repair and rebuild shelters, provide healthcare and ensure access to clean water and sanitation systems.

Red Cross volunteers deliver emergency water and food to the 
city hospital in Bogo

“We are grateful for the American public’s generosity and compassion following what has been called one of the strongest storms in world history,” said David Meltzer, chief international officer for the American Red Cross. “The American Red Cross is in a unique position to help provide support by airlifting relief supplies from its warehouses around the world, providing trained disaster responders specializing in damage assessment and telecommunications, and by channeling its financial support to the Philippine Red Cross and its more than 500,000 staff and volunteers and our other global partners in the Red Cross network – all of which go to providing relief from this devastating storm.”

In addition to financial assistance, the American Red Cross is lending people, expertise and equipment to this effort with four specialists already on the ground in the Philippines. These include two people who specialize in telecommunication and who are travelling with satellite equipment, and two others who specialize in disaster assessment.

Here in the United States, the American Red Cross is helping to reconnect families separated by the typhoon and has activated its family tracing services. To date, one Restoring Family Links case has been initiated in the Western New York/Finger Lakes Region. If people are looking for a missing family member in the Philippines, please remember that many phone lines are down. If people are unable to reach loved ones, contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross to initiate a family tracing case.

The Philippine Red Cross has extensive experience in search and rescue and large-scale relief and recovery programs. The Philippine Red Cross is the largest humanitarian organization in the country, with 1,000 staff members and an estimated 500,000 active volunteers engaged in this disaster response. Their volunteer relief teams continue to provide assistance in the hardest hit communities, including assisting in search and rescue efforts. 

The Philippine Red Cross has begun distributions of emergency supplies and has provided meals to people affected by the storm. On Sunday, 6,000 packs of relief supplies were sent to Leyete and other affected communities. However, supply delivery in the worst affected city of Tacloban has been significantly constrained by destroyed infrastructure, blocked roads, and downed communication lines.

Specialized emergency response teams from Red Cross societies across the globe are moving into the Philippines to assist the Philippine Red Cross. These include teams with expertise in logistics, disaster assessment, shelter, health, water and sanitation.

“A global Red Cross relief effort is well underway and we are working closely with our international partners to help get aid where it is needed,” said Meltzer.

Despite the tragic aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, thousands of survivors are grateful for their lives. The Philippine Red Cross worked closely with local disaster authorities to support preemptive evacuations, helping move more than 125,000 families to safer shelter prior to the storm making landfall. The Philippine Red Cross also disseminated early warning messages and safety tips in areas along the path of the typhoon.

The American Red Cross expects to make additional contributions to support the humanitarian response in the coming weeks. Donations received from American Red Cross and other Red Cross partners will aid the Philippines relief and recovery efforts through the Philippine Red Cross and possibly other organizations as experts on the ground determine the best way forward.

HOW TO HELP Those who want to help can go to www.redcross.org or call 1-800-REDCROSS to donate to typhoon relief. People can also mail in a donation to their local Red Cross chapter. Gifts to the American Red Cross will support our disaster relief efforts to help those affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. On those rare occasions when donations exceed American Red Cross expenses for a specific crisis, contributions are used to prepare for and serve victims of other crises.

In a new partnership, Facebook is making it possible for users to donate directly to the American Red Cross either through a notification in News Feed, or directly on the Red Cross Facebook page. This is the first time that the American Red Cross has engaged in such a large-scale fundraising program with a social platform. For the Red Cross that means that with the click of a button on Facebook, we can connect people who want to help with those who are so desperately in need in the Philippines. This Facebook effort for the Philippines in the United States will continue through November 15.

American Red Cross Relief Efforts Continue One Year After Sandy

WNY/Finger Lakes volunteers filled over 160 positions in response

A Red Cross volunteer assesses the damage in the Sea Gate
neighborhood near Coney Island

BUFFALO, NY, October 29, 2013 – The American Red Cross has released a one-year Superstorm Sandy report detailing its response and recovery work to help residents affected by this historic storm, which made landfall on October 29, 2012.

Initially, local Disaster Services staff and volunteers began mobilizing days earlier to prepare for a storm that was initially predicted to bring severe weather to the Western New York and Finger Lakes Regions. Once it became clear that this area had largely been spared, attention turned to helping the millions of people devastated by Sandy along the East Coast. Volunteers from the Western New York and Finger Lakes Regions helped fill over 160 positions in the relief efforts, with most local volunteers working in New York City, Long Island and New Jersey.

The One-Year Superstorm Sandy Report details the extraordinary measures taken by the Red Cross to respond to Sandy, from volunteer deployment and relief efforts to temporary and permanent housing assistance to key partnerships with government and non-government entities, as well as the strong outpouring of support from donors.

Red Cross clean up kits are distributed to residents in
Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood

The Red Cross met Sandy’s significant damage with its largest U.S. response in five years. More than 17,000 trained workers from all over the country – 90 percent of them volunteers, powered the massive emergency relief effort. This response included:

•         Serving more than 17.5 million meals and snacks in a huge feeding operation.
•        Handing out more than 7 million relief items such as cold weather items and clean-up supplies.
•        Providing nearly 113,000 health services and emotional support contacts for people who have been living in very tough conditions.
•        Providing 74,000 overall shelter stays for Sandy.

“Donations to the Red Cross have helped countless families start over in a new place to live, clean out the mold from their water-logged homes, or get much-needed financial and emotional support to rebuild their homes and lives,” said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the Red Cross. “The needs are still great, and there is more work to do. We are committed to continue working with the communities that were impacted by this devastating storm to provide services and support.”

RECOVERY EFFORTS ONGOING Even as its emergency relief work was occurring, the Red Cross began to help people in the long recovery process that continues today. Trained Red Cross workers are meeting with those in need, providing case management and financial assistance to help with security and utility deposits, home repairs and rent as well as linking them to available social service programs.

Western New York and Finger Lakes Regional CEO Nancy Blaschak served as Interim Director of the Long Term Recovery Project in New York City and Long Island at the beginning of 2013. The Red Cross has worked together with government and community partners at every step to provide assistance to those that need it most. In addition, the Red Cross has given $60 million in grants to a number of nonprofits working in New Jersey and New York to help people with home repairs, mold remediation, food, financial assistance and financial counseling, and to support the work of community roundtables to help address unmet needs.

THANK YOU The work of the Red Cross is possible because of the compassion and generosity of the American public, and the Red Cross already has spent or made commitments to spend $280 million, more than 90 percent of the $308 million donated for Sandy. The Red Cross expects to use the biggest share of the remaining money to help people with a range of housing-related expenses, support community resiliency programs and give more grants to community non-profit partners to help Sandy survivors.

“We are grateful for the generosity of donors across the nation who continually make it possible for the Red Cross to respond to once-in-a-generation disasters like Sandy, as well as the 70,000 disasters we confront each year,” McGovern said.

The report and other information on the Red Cross Sandy relief and recovery efforts can be found at www.redcross.org/sandy-response.

Additional WNY/Finger Lakes Volunteers Deploying to Colorado

Tara Hughes providing Mental Health services following Navy Yard tragedy

Tara Hughes of Amherst, NY sharing Red Cross coping tips
following the Boston Marathon bombing in April. Tara is
now part of the Disaster Mental Health team responding to
the Navy Yard shooting.

The American Red Cross joins the nation and the Washington, D.C. community in expressing our sympathy and concern for those affected by the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. Tara Hughes of Amherst, NY deployed on Tuesday to assist in the Disaster Mental Health response. Hughes recently led the Disaster Mental Health efforts following the Boston Marathon bombing and Sandy Hook school shooting.

In Colorado, the American Red Cross is supporting rescue operations by providing food, shelter, relief supplies and comfort to thousands of people forced from their homes by devastating flash flooding.

Two additional volunteers from the Western New York and Finger Lakes Regions will be deploying to support the Red Cross relief efforts. Sarah Perkins of Pittsford is deploying on Wednesday to do Disaster Assessment, and Dominic DiGirolamo of Belmont will be providing Disaster Mental Health support when he deploys on Thursday. Six volunteers from the 17 county Region will be among the over 400 trained disaster workers staffing shelters and evacuation centers in Colorado. A full list of area deployments is below.

The Red Cross continues to work closely with local emergency management officials in Colorado to ensure people get the help they need. As many as 500 people stayed in 14 shelters across Colorado on Monday night. Working with community partners, the Red Cross has served more than 10,000 meals and snacks and provided more than 1,700 health and mental health services for those affected. In the days to come, the Red Cross will be supporting Disaster Assistance Centers by offering relief supplies and other recovery support, and as flooded areas begin to reopen, the Red Cross will be there to assess the damage, distribute cleanup supplies and support a recovery effort that will take weeks and months.

HOW TO HELP People across the flooded areas need help now. The Red Cross has launched a massive relief effort to help people in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas and needs the continued support of the public to help those affected. People can make a donation to support Red Cross Disaster Relief by visiting www.redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions may also be sent to someone’s local Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

WNY/FINGER LAKES RED CROSS VOLUNTEERS DEPLOYED

(FOR COLORADO FLOODING RELIEF UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)

NAME, HOMETOWN	JOB	DEPARTURE DATE
Dominic DiGirolamo, Belmont	Disaster Mental Health	9/19
Lucille Frisciano, Webster	Health Services	9/17
Tara Hughes, Amherst	Disaster Mental Health (Navy Yard)	9/17
Sarah Perkins, Pittsford	Disaster Assessment	9/18
Bippin Shaw, Rochester	Health Services	9/17
Beth Shook, Cuba	Staff Services	9/17
Ferris Tood, Canandaigua	Disaster Mental Health	9/17

American Red Cross Responds to Flooding in Mecklenburg

American Red Cross volunteers are assessing the needs of the evacuation of eight homes due to flash flooding. Families evacuated have been taken to the Mecklenburg Volunteer Fire Company, County RD 6, Mecklenburg, NY.  Water and clean up kits will be available for individuals affected by flooding this afternoon.  If you have been affected in flooded areas and need assistance in a non-emergency situation, please call the American Red Cross at 607-734-3711 and a volunteer responder will assist you. 

"Right now, we're focused on making sure everyone has a safe place to stay," said Judy Coleman, Disaster Services Coordinator," but we'll also be there to help people get back on their feet after the flood waters recede.”

Floods are among the most frequent and costly natural disasters. Conditions that cause floods include heavy or steady rain for several hours or days that saturates the ground. Flash floods occur suddenly due to rapidly rising water along a stream or low-lying area.

The American Red Cross urges you to prepare.  You will be better prepared to withstand a flood if you have the following items available – packed and ready to go in case you need to evacuate your home

• Water—at least a 3-day supply; one gallon per person per day
• Food—at least a 3-day supply of non-perishable, easy-to-prepare food
• Flashlight
• Battery-powered or hand-crank radio (NOAA Weather Radio, if possible)
• Extra batteries
• First Aid kit
• Medications (7-day supply) and medical items (hearing aids with extra batteries, glasses, contact lenses, syringes, cane)
• Multi-purpose tool
• Sanitation and personal hygiene items
• Copies of personal documents (medication list and pertinent medical information, deed/lease to home, birth certificates, insurance policies)
• Cell phone with chargers
• Family and emergency contact information
• Extra cash
• Emergency blanket
• Map(s) of the area
• Baby supplies (bottles, formula, baby food, diapers)
• Pet supplies (collar, leash, ID, food, carrier, bowl)
• Tools/supplies for securing your home
• Extra set of car keys and house keys
• Extra clothing, hat and sturdy shoes
• Rain gear
• Insect repellent and sunscreen
• Camera for photos of damage

Responding Appropriately During a Flood

• Listen to area radio and television stations and a NOAA Weather Radio for possible flood warnings and reports of flooding in progress or other critical information from the National Weather Service (NWS)
• Be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
• When a flood or flash flood warning is issued for your area, head for higher ground and stay there.
• Stay away from floodwaters. If you come upon a flowing stream where water is above your ankles, stop, turn around and go another way. Six inches of swiftly moving water can sweep you off of your feet.
• If you come upon a flooded road while driving, turn around and go another way. If you are caught on a flooded road and waters are rising rapidly around you, get out of the car quickly and move to higher ground. Most cars can be swept away by less than two feet of moving water.
• Keep children out of the water. They are curious and often lack judgment about running water or contaminated water.
• Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize flood danger.
• Because standard homeowner’s insurance does not cover flooding, it is important to have protection from the floods associated with hurricanes, tropical storms, heavy rains and other conditions that impact the U.S. For more flood safety tips and information on flood insurance, please visit the National Flood Insurance Program Web site at www.FloodSmart.gov.

Recover After Flood ,Recovery Tips:

• Return home only when officials have declared the area safe.
• Before entering your home, look outside for loose power lines, damaged gas lines, foundation cracks or other damage.
• Parts of your home may be collapsed or damaged. Approach entrances carefully. See if porch roofs and overhangs have all their supports.
• Watch out for wild animals, especially poisonous snakes that may have come into your home with the floodwater.
• If you smell natural or propane gas or hear a hissing noise, leave immediately and call the fire department.
• If power lines are down outside your home, do not step in puddles or standing water.
• Keep children and pets away from hazardous sites and floodwater.
• Materials such as cleaning products, paint, batteries, contaminated fuel and damaged fuel containers are hazardous. Check with local authorities for assistance with disposal to avoid risk.
• During cleanup, wear protective clothing, including rubber gloves and rubber boots.
• Make sure your food and water are safe. Discard items that have come in contact with floodwater, including canned goods, water bottles, plastic utensils and baby bottle nipples. When in doubt, throw it out!
• Contact your local or state public health department to see if your water supply might be contaminated. You may need to boil or treat it before use. Do not use water that could be contaminated to wash dishes, brush teeth, prepare food, wash hands, make ice or make baby formula!

Let Your Family Know You Are Safe

If your community has experienced a disaster, register on the American Red Cross Safe and Well web site to let your family and friends know about your welfare. You may also call 1-866-GET-INFO to register yourself and your family.