Greater NY Representatives Meet with Brooklyn Deputy Borough President Diana Reyna

L to R: Greater NY Red Cross Senior Regional Director, Community Relations, Alex Lutz; Brooklyn Deputy Borough President Diana Reyna; Greater NY Red Cross Brooklyn Disaster Program Manager, Ed Torraca.

On Thursday, September 11, representatives of the Greater New York region visited Brooklyn Borough Hall and met with Deputy Borough President Diana Reyna to report on Red Cross services to Brooklyn.

This was the first meeting with new Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams’ administration since his election last year. The deputy borough president was briefed on daily disaster responses in Brooklyn, particularly house fires, readiness actions the Red Cross is taking in advance of future large-scale disasters, and ongoing recovery services to residents impacted by Superstorm Sandy.

Newly appointed Red Cross Brooklyn Disaster Program Manager Ed Torraca discussed his role in coordinating response operations for the borough and his plans to engage community groups and leaders to increase the borough’s readiness and response capacity.

In Case You Missed it – Aug. 18

Photo: Ronnie Rigos / @rgrigos

In the last week the Red Cross provided emergency relief in the form of shelter, food, clothing, health services and/or emotional support to 128 New Yorkers impacted by 50 disasters across our region. These numbers do not include the hundreds of people helped after last week’s Long Island floods. Here are some highlights from the prior week.

Last Week in Review

 

• Last week, record-setting rainfall inundated communities on Long Island and Red Cross volunteers sprang into action to help hundreds of people affected by the severe flooding. Red Cross teams from across the region—Long Island, New York City, and Metro New York North—distributed flood clean-up supplies, blankets and beverages, conducted damage assessment and worked with families to determine whether further emergency assistance was needed. Read about the response in more detail here.
• August 14 was the anniversary of the Northeast Blackout. Editorial Manager Anita Salzberg commemorated the occasion by asking "Where Were You During the Blackout of 2003?"
• With help from the American Red Cross, volunteers from Southern Baptist Disaster Relief and other organizations are working to rebuild Long Island homes damaged by Superstorm Sandy, and are making their own temporary home on a Long Island college campus as they do the work.
• Wonderful story of how a Yonkers police captain used infant CPR to save the life of a baby and will now attend her wedding 20 years later. CPR can not only save a life, but it can also build life-long relationships. See video report from NBC NY here.
• Several interns finished their summer internships with us and shared what their experience was like here, here and here. Thank you for all your hard work ladies!
• Sadly, last week two prominent celebrities passed away: Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall. Many may not know that Lauren Bacall began her modeling career in 1943 with this iconic Harper's Bazaar cover to ramp up blood donations to support US military hospitals overseas during WWII.

Red Cross Helps Bronx Couple Stay Together After Vacate

“We were in a panic.”

That’s how Maxine Scott describes how she and her companion, Jack Tucker, felt as they were being vacated from their home of two years on Tinton Avenue in the Bronx.

This occurred on a recent Sunday evening in the middle of a bitter cold snap. The building, a one-family home, had been broken up to accommodate a number of families. City inspectors deemed it unsafe; in fact said Maxine, they called it a fire trap.

Maxine and Jack, although unmarried, have been together 27 years, and were afraid they would be separated.

“I’m thinking he’ll be with men: I’ll be in a place where there’s all women,” Maxine said. “He is my family. We depend on one another. I’m his right hand. I start a sentence; Jack can finish it.”

Jack nodded in agreement.

They quickly gathered what few belongings they could carry, including one change of clothes.

Red Cross disaster responders were soon on the scene to help.

“The Red Cross showed up; the person who helped us was so polite,” Maxine said. “He explained everything, step by step. If we didn’t understand something, he broke it down.”

The Red Cross gave the couple a debit card with funds for basic needs, MetroCards and temporary housing (together) at a local hotel.

Maxine, who recently lost her job in food service and is about to begin classes in custodial management, said the Red Cross alleviated her fears.

“I’m trying to go to school, I’m trying to work. And I don’t know if I can do all this at the same time. But I feel at ease,” she said. “We’re not just going to be thrown out into the street …. the Red Cross is awesome.”

"The responders really helped with a smile.”

Alicia Rios, her husband, Miguel Ortiz, and their two daughters, Diana Rios, 16 and Felicia Rios, 14, were recently burned out of their Bronx apartment. They were grateful the Red Cross was there to help.

The night of the fire, the family members were all asleep. Feeling unusually warm, Miguel awoke around 1 am. He told Alicia he thought he smelled bread toasting; to her it smelled more like fire. 

Miguel went upstairs and found smoke coming through the apartment door above. The family ran outside to safety—just before their living room ceiling collapsed in smoke and flame.
 

“It was a miracle we got out, but it was so sad,” said Alicia. “Even though we did not get hurt, we saw pictures of our family go down with the fire. We lost everything.”

They had moved into the apartment only a month earlier. 

Red Cross disaster responders met with the family at the scene. After making sure that Alicia, who has a heart condition, was not in need of medical assistance, they arranged for temporary housing for the family at a hotel, and drove them there.  

Alicia, Miguel and the girls came to Red Cross headquarters days later, where they received financial assistance for food assistance and referrals for long term housing.

"The Red Cross came and they were so friendly and supportive,” said Alicia. "The responders really helped with a smile. They helped a lot and are still helping."

Volunteer Spotlight: Caroline Belina of Canada

“I like the actual work and meeting such wonderful, sympathetic volunteers – we all connect to support one cause,” reflected Caroline Belina, of Montreal, Canada.

One of many people who have come from Red Cross organizations around the world to join in the Red Cross relief effort in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Belina is grateful for the support and encouragement her family, home branch, and workplace have given her.

Belina joined her local chapter of the Canadian Red Cross at the urging of her mother, who thought she would be uniquely suited to provide help and comfort to those impacted by Superstorm Sandy. Her branch agreed and arranged for her to deploy.

The school system where she teaches agreed to grant her leave without pay, and her teacher’s union stepped in to cover her salary while she was absent from the classroom.

“Everyone thinks this will set a good example for the kids,” Belina said of the support she has received.

Working at a Red Cross distribution site in the Rockaways in Queens, N.Y., she was glad to be a part of the massive relief effort, which has involved more than 15,000 disaster workers in the several states impacted by the storm.

Photo: Canadian Red Cross volunteer Caroline Belina (second from left) and her American counterpart, Theresa Green, helped hand out warm coats to storm victims with New York Liberty retired basketball player Kym Hampton and retired New York Knicks star John Wallace. (American Red Cross/Sue Kariker)

New York Volunteer Passionate About Helping People

“If you try it just one day, you’d understand.”

That’s how 28-year-old Zullyvette Feliciano describes volunteering with the American Red Cross.

“Most of my friends don’t volunteer at all and they don’t understand,” she said. “But when you see the appreciation in someone’s face that you’ve helped, it’s out of this world.”

Feliciano, who works full time at a New York hospital, has been a volunteer with the Greater New York Red Cross region for more than two years. Her dedication to public service has even driven her to use her own vacation time to help out in times of disaster.

“I went to Catholic school growing up and always had volunteer projects, so it’s always been a part of me,” Feliciano said. “If you have the ability to help, you should.”

As a volunteer with the Greater New York emergency response team, Feliciano helps people affected by everyday disasters like house fires, providing them with food, clothing, lodging, emotional support and other assistance as needed.

“Everyone is always so warm and grateful for what we do,” she said.

When Superstorm Sandy made landfall, Feliciano navigated her way from her home in the Bronx to regional headquarters in Manhattan to help any way she could. Her dedication prompted her to spend the night on a cot in an empty office cubicle on the building’s fourth floor, along with dozens of other Red Cross volunteers. She awoke the next day to continue volunteering.

As part of a Red Cross team, Feliciano began conducting damage assessments in some of the hardest-hit areas. She also drove a mobile feeding truck through the streets of the Rockaways, distributing food to those who had lost their homes.
“Everyone was so happy to see us,” she said.

Feliciano even pitched in and answered phone calls in the emergency communications center at Greater New York headquarters in the weeks following Sandy. At the time, the center was receiving thousands of calls each day.

Feliciano earned her master’s degree in environmental and occupational health sciences in 2009. Today, she is back at her full-time job, but her passion for helping brings her back to the Red Cross almost every Saturday, where she continues to assist those impacted by everyday disasters like house fires.

“I get way more back than what I give,” Feliciano said.