A Look Back at Red Cross Response to Severe Weather Outbreak

Last week, powerful storms left a devastating path of damage and despair from the Great Plains to the Gulf Coast and across the East Coast. As soon as the storms passed, the American Red Cross was on the ground, providing comfort and hope to thousands of people whose lives were turned upside down in just moments.

Today, nearly a thousand trained Red Cross workers are providing shelter, food, relief supplies, health services, emotional support and other assistance to those in need across 12 states. Dozens of Red Cross emergency vehicles are handing out meals, snacks and relief supplies in the hardest hit communities as road conditions permit.

Here in New York City, after near-record flooding, neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn found themselves under several feet of water. The devastation included lost possessions as well as the destruction of entire basement homes. Red Cross teams sprang into action to help families clean up and recover. They canvased hundreds of homes, handed out more than 500 clean-up items and provided over a dozen residents with emergency housing. They will continue to help as long as they are needed.

Learn more about the Red Cross spring tornadoes and flooding response.

Greater NY Volunteer Deploys to North Carolina Floods

Long-time Red Cross volunteer Fred Leahy, who serves as Sr. Volunteer Partner to Red Cross Northeast Division Disaster Executive Tom Vitullo, is scheduled to travel tomorrow to North Carolina, where Red Cross is helping those affected by tornadoes. Fred will act as the Community Partnership Services Manager, helping to coordinate relief efforts between the Red Cross and its community partners.

Fred said, “This will be my 27th disaster response since Katrina. So I pretty well know what I am going to face. The destruction is always startling. But alleviating the human suffering is what I am really there for. I look forward to helping those affected by the severe weather begin to patch up their lives.”

Fred is just one of more than 500 American Red Cross volunteers who are providing comfort and hope across 11 states to help people affected by devastating floods and tornadoes. Read more.

 

Red Cross Hero Carlos Arredondo to Be Guest at State of the Union Address

Tonight, as President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress, First Lady Michelle Obama will be joined in her viewing box by a number of extraordinary Americans who exemplify the themes and ideals laid out in the State of the Union.

Among those present will be Red Cross volunteer Carlos Arredondo, who heroically sprang into action immediately after the Boston Marathon bombing last April.

Many people are familiar with the now-iconic photo of Carlos, wearing his white cowboy hat, running alongside the injured Jeff Bauman in the aftermath of the bombing. Bauman, missing both his legs and losing blood rapidly, was caught under the bombing wreckage—until Carlos lifted him into a wheelchair and, running alongside, held the tourniquet fabric to keep it from getting caught in the wheels. Jeff will also be a guest in the First Lady’s viewing box.

In 2004, Alex, Carlos’ 20-year-old firstborn son and a Marine Lance Corporal, was killed while serving in Iraq. This tragedy spurred Carlos and his wife, Mélida, into becoming passionate voices for peace. Sadly, seven years later, Carlos’ surviving son, 24-year-old Brian Arredondo, passed away as well. Carlos and Mélida attended the Boston Marathon to support members of the National Guard who were running to honor Alex and Brian.

Carlos exemplifies the Red Cross mission of alleviating human suffering in the face of emergency. He has been a Red Cross volunteer most of his life.

Today, Carlos volunteers with the American Red Cross of Eastern Massachusetts, focusing on the Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces program, which is close to his heart.

The Greater New York Red Cross honored Carlos last October, at its Red Tie Affair Honoring Our Heroes.

“I couldn’t have made it without the Red Cross.”

Randall Cain and his maternal grandmother, Christmas 1969. Cain, just 21, was enroute to being assigned to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

It could be said that Randall Cain, a former Marine and Coast Guard member who lives on Staten Island, is grateful to the American Red Cross six times over—as many times as he has been helped by the Red Cross during the past four decades.

Forty-four years ago, in May 1968, Cain was a young Marine serving at Camp Pendleton in San Diego when his mother underwent brain surgery in Washington, D.C. The Red Cross, through its Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) program, contacted the Marine Corps to confirm the surgery, then loaned Cain emergency funds to fly to the East Coast and back.

Although his mother had not been expected to survive more than 24 hours, she lingered in a coma for two weeks, and Cain was able to be with her and his family during that time.

“I was just 19 and so grateful,” he said.

Cain left the Marines in 1972. Two years later, just before joining the Coast Guard, he was living in Brandenburg, Kentucky when a tornado struck, “killing 40 some people,” Cain recalls.

Although Cain survived, his apartment was destroyed. “The Red Cross provided me with blankets, silverware, cooking utensils and food that was lost,” he said. “They took care of everybody.”

Fast forward to 1984. Cain was stationed with the Coast Guard in Puerto Rico when the Red Cross again contacted his command, this time with the sad news that his maternal grandmother, who was in her 90s, had passed away. Within six months, they reached out to Cain’s command again; his paternal grandmother, also in her 90s, had died. Thanks to these notifications, Cain was able to attend both funerals, in Texas and Kentucky, respectively.

Thirteen years later, in October 1997, Cain’s dad, Carson, suffered a heart attack. Once again, the Red Cross verified this situation to the Coast Guard, and Cain was able travel from Puerto Rico to Virginia to be at his Dad’s side for a week. Two months later, the Coast Guard released Cain to fly home for his dad’s funeral after another Red Cross notification.

Cain mentioned that the Red Cross had also played a role in Carson Cain’s military career, after his unit, the 60th Coastal Artillery, Battery E, surrendered to the Japanese at the Battle of Corregidor in the Philippines May 5, 1942.

“I read a few books by survivors of the imprisonment,” said Cain. “The authors, as I recall, mentioned receiving Red Cross packages. So I believe when my dad was transferred to a POW camp in Japan, he may have occasionally gotten Red Cross packages.”

Randall Cain retired from the Coast Guard as a Chief Warrant Officer in 2000, after 26 years of service. For the past 12 years he has worked as a clerk for the NYPD at Manhattan’s First Precinct, located near the Holland Tunnel.

Most recently, this spring, Cain was scheduled for a surgery of his own—to have a pacemaker installed. His son Christian, 23 and a Marine, was stationed at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina. Cain contacted the Red Cross by phone, asking to have an SAF representative verify the surgery to Chris’s command. Chris returned home in time to see his father through a successful surgery.

“Now you just call a 1-800 number and you’re connected,” said Cain, noting how easy it has become to receive help from the Service to the Armed Forces program.

“I couldn’t have made it without the Red Cross,” he concluded.

Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) provides humanitarian support to service members, veterans and their families around the clock and around the globe, all under a trusted symbol. Through this program, the American Red Cross facilitates emergency messages about urgent news from home—a serious illness, the birth of a child or the death of a loved one—to service men and women anywhere in the world, including ships at sea, embassies and isolated military units.

Our local SAF program supports our military community in variety of ways, including support to local VA Hospitals, Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point and attending events such as deployment briefings, welcome home ceremonies and other supportive community events such as Fleet Week and the Veterans’ Day Parade.

"You can be the best thing to happen to somebody on their worst day."

L-R: Giselle Cuen, Jack Porter, Doree Trent, and Julia Kim

by Jamie Dierking

July 31st was the final day for three of four American Red Cross relief and recovery volunteers—Jack Porter, Doree Trent, and Julia Kim—who were bringing help and hope to Sandy-affected residents in New York. A fourth worker, Giselle Cuen, is staying on until the end of August.

Here are their stories.

Giselle Cuen of San Diego, Calif., volunteered to provide disaster health services in a Red Cross shelter for two weeks in November. Cuen returned to New York City in February to work in case management, helping people affected by Sandy; she will stay until the end of August. “Being able to help people is great,” Cuen said. “It feels really good.”

Jack Porter of Dothan, La., arrived in November to begin a month of on-the-ground relief work, helping feed people affected by Sandy. His shift completed, Porter flew home to Louisiana. Mere days later, he returned to New York to begin volunteering again, primarily helping people affected by Sandy learn how to access Red Cross assistance and how to proceed on their road to recovery. “You can be the best thing to happen to somebody on their worst day,” Porter said. “I do this because I love it.”

Doree Trent of Tulsa, Okla., spent seven and a half months helping people affected by Sandy. She arrived just days after Sandy made landfall and began overseeing all Red Cross shelters in New York State. She returned home to Oklahoma in mid-January, but returned to New York in March to help manage cases of people affected by Sandy. “Being retired military, I’m very patriotic and I believe in serving my country," Trent said. "In the military I was stationed overseas and my mother passed away. The Red Cross paid for my flight back to the mainland. They helped me out a lot.”

Julia Kim of Lathrop, Calif., arrived in New York City in early November and has spent nine continuous months working in Sandy case management, helping connect people with Red Cross resources and assistance. “Getting to know some of the families, I wanted to see [their stories] from beginning to end and have some closure,” Kim said.

Greater NY Red Cross AmeriCorps Member Heads to Oklahoma

Yesterday afternoon, Greater NY Red Cross AmeriCorps member and Scarsdale, N.Y. resident Frances Lee, deployed to Oklahoma City. She will join hundreds of Red Cross volunteers from all over the country responding to the devastating storms that tore through areas in and around the city over the past week and a half. Frances is one of nearly forty Greater New York Red Cross staff members to assist with this response to date.

During her two-week deployment, Frances will be part of the Community Partnership team, helping the Red Cross coordinate with other organizations on the ground in Oklahoma in order to serve residents in need. This will be her first major response outside of our region.

Frances joined the Red Cross as an AmeriCorps volunteer in October of last year. Over these past eight months, Frances has split her time between responding to “everyday” disasters (such as fires and vacates) and assisting with the Red Cross Superstorm Sandy response.

Video: Greater New York Red Cross Volunteers Deploy to Oklahoma

After Hurricane Sandy devastated the East Coast in October 2012, thousands of American Red Cross volunteers from around the United States traveled to New York to help with relief efforts here.

After horrific tornadoes wreaked havoc in Oklahoma earlier this week, New York is returning the favor.

Close to 50 Red Cross disaster workers from our area have deployed or are deploying to Oklahoma:

•  Craig Cooper, an Advanced Public Affairs volunteer from Smithtown, N.Y., in Suffolk County, will be helping to coordinate national and local media in Okla. Craig has deployed numerous times to other Red Cross relief efforts.
• Joan Broderick, from Westhampton, N.Y., also in Suffolk County, is a long-time volunteer and disaster mental health manager. Joan has responded to 9/11, Katrina, and Sandy.
• Craig and Joan both deployed to Moore, Okla., the site of the massive tornado that struck Monday.
• Today, 14 Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) members are headed out to Oklahoma. The DART program, a partnership between the FDNY and the Red Cross, was created in 1989. DART members—active and retired firefighter and fire officers—generously volunteer their knowledge, experience and compassion to help those affected by disaster.
• Also today, 30 members of the JetBlue all-volunteer Ready Team are travelling to Oklahoma to work as part of the Red Cross relief effort. In the past, JetBlue Ready Team members have helped in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, and other disasters.

Learn more about the Red Cross Oklahoma tornado response. 

Volunteer Spotlight: Laura Harms

Laura Harms of Jefferson City, Mo., is on her first national disaster relief deployment. The Red Cross Health Services volunteer, who has been assisting clients with replacing medical items and devices lost during Superstorm Sandy, even serves as a resource for those who simply need help with insurance.

“It’s nice to see a case through from beginning to end,” said Harms. “Hearing the voice on the other end of the phone say their needs have been taken care of is a great feeling.”

Harms understands the Red Cross mission well. When not volunteering she works as a Collections Specialist 2, LPN in the Missouri-Illinois Blood Services region of the Red Cross. She’s been a Red Cross volunteer since 2006 working with disaster services and Service to the Armed Forces.

“I know what I want to do,” Harms explained when asked why she volunteers. “Disaster Services is where I want to be.”

Call Center Volunteer Saves a the Lives of a Family

Eighty-year old Red Cross volunteer, Hyacinth Charles, credits “the Man upstairs” with giving her the compassion to talk a suicidal Sandy survivor out of her plan. (American Red Cross/Carl Manning)

by Joellen Barak

It was just a small plot of land. That’s what Hyacinth Charles thought back in 1963, when she was helping get the American Red Cross in the U.S. Virgin Islands started. The fledgling chapter just needed a small plot of land for their offices. 

Hyacinth persuaded a wealthy man to donate the land, and the chapter began to build. Little did she know that this was the beginning of her lifetime involvement with the Red Cross—and that she would end up literally saving the lives of an entire family 50 years later in New York City.

Hyacinth, of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, has been volunteering in New York as part of the Superstorm Sandy response. She works in the client casework call center, a place residents affected by Sandy and still facing challenges can call for information that will help them as they rebuild their lives.

Hyacinth knew that the woman she was talking to seemed distraught. 

“She was crying before she even started talking,” she said. 

The woman told Hyacinth she could only think of one way to solve her problems—she was going to kill her children and then herself. There happened to be a volunteer chaplain working as a fellow call taker near Hyacinth in the call center that day. Hyacinth immediately signaled for him to help with the call. 

Before the chaplain could respond, Hyacinth continued to listen as the woman sobbed out her story. It turns out that the caller had lost both her home and her job as a result of the storm. A single mom, she was at the end of her rope. She truly felt that ending their lives was the only way to help her family.

Hyacinth tried immediately to remind the woman of reasons to be glad to be alive. 

She told her, “Honey, you’re here another day. Your children still have their mother. Only the man upstairs knows what comes next.” 

She offered to pray with the woman, and they did so. Hyacinth says she could hear the woman calming down.

As Hyacinth turned the call over to the chaplain, the woman thanked her. She told Charles to “keep up your good work.” 

The American Red Cross can save lives in a number of ways: by collecting blood, teaching CPR skills, or teaching children to swim. Or simply by having a volunteer like Hyacinth Charles in place to answer a call from a desperate storm survivor.