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.”

LISC Honors Red Cross for Sandy Recovery

Pictured L-R: Brad Gair, director, NYC Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations; Denise Scott, executive vice president for programs, LISC; and Josh Lockwood, CEO, American Red Cross Greater New York Region.

More than a dozen organizations, including the American Red Cross, were honored at the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) 12th Annual Big Apple Innovation Awards on Jan. 15, 2014. The theme for the event was "The Heart of NYC.” LISC honored groups that helped people affected by Superstorm Sandy and continue to practice community development throughout New York City.

Josh Lockwood, CEO, Red Cross Greater New York Region and Jessica Pavone, Red Cross senior director, Long Term Recovery New York State, represented the Red Cross.

“We’re proud to stand alongside such strong community partners like LISC and the other honorees who are making a difference for people affected by Sandy,” Lockwood said.

Brad Gair, director, NYC Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations (HRO), accepted the Emergency Relief Community Partners Award on behalf of HRO and the following community partners: AAFE Community Development Fund, American Red Cross Greater New York Region, Astella Development Corporation, Brighton Neighborhood Association, Environmental Contractors Association, Fifth Avenue Committee, The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, MHANY Management, Inc., NHS of East Flatbush, Northfield Community LDC, Ocean Bay CDC, The Robin Hood Foundation and Zone A New York.

 For more photos, visit the Red Cross Greater New York Flickr page.

Red Cross Helps Coney Islanders Prepare for Next Disaster

The American Red Cross responds to nearly 70,000 disasters across the U.S. each year, including about 2,300 in the Greater New York Region alone, and wants people to be prepared for an emergency.

On Jan. 8, Darius Alemzadeh, Red Cross community recovery specialist, helped some Brooklyn residents prepare for disaster with a Be Red Cross Ready presentation at the Brooklyn Public Library in Coney Island. Be Red Cross Ready is a 30–45 minute free presentation that allows participants to learn about steps they can take toward preparedness, including making a plan and building an emergency kit.

If your community organization is interested in Be Red Cross Ready, please email suzan.rosen@redcross.org.

Remembering Flight 1549

January 15, 2009: U.S. Airways Flight 1549, en route from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, North Carolina, landed on the Hudson River in sub-zero temperatures. The American Red Cross responded immediately with blankets, hot drinks, sweat suits, socks and health and mental health support for passengers and crew members who evacuated to the New York Waterways Terminal in Manhattan. 

Red Cross Partner, Food Bank For New York City, Gives Sandy Update

Dominque Jones, chief program officer at Food Bank For New York City, spoke to American Red Cross case managers on Friday, Jan. 10, 2014. The presentation included information about how Food Bank For New York City is using funding from the Red Cross to feed vulnerable populations, particularly senior citizens, affected by Superstorm Sandy. Case managers learned how to refer people for assistance.

Last year, the Red Cross awarded a $4.48 million grant to Food Bank For New York City to support emergency feeding services for people affected by Sandy throughout the five boroughs and a $500,000 grant to support recovery services for senior citizens affected by Sandy in parts of Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens.

NYDIS Presents Red Cross with Partner of Year Award

Pictured L-R: Ron Drews, executive director, Lutheran Social Services and president, NYDIS Board of Directors; Josh Lockwood, CEO, Red Cross Greater New York Region; Jessica Pavone, senior director, Red Cross Long Term Recovery New York State; and Rev. Ruth Yoder Wenger, executive vice president, Mennonite Disaster Service.

On Thursday, Jan. 9, New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS) held its Annual Meeting and 2013 Partnership Awards. Dozens of non-profit and faith-based organizations, including the American Red Cross, received awards. The Red Cross Greater New York Region was honored as the NYDIS Partner of the Year and also recognized for being a donor to the Superstorm Sandy Unmet Needs Roundtable.

“The Red Cross is proud to stand with such a great group of organizations that have worked tirelessly to help people affected by Sandy,” said Josh Lockwood, CEO, Red Cross Greater New York Region. “By working together, we are able to help people recover in many different ways.”

This summer, the Red Cross awarded a nearly $3 million grant to NYDIS to support long-term recovery services for people affected by Sandy. The Unmet Needs Roundtable program is an established long-term recovery resource that customizes assistance for eligible Sandy clients in need.

Founded in response to 9/11, NYDIS is a faith-based federation of more than 80 service providers and charitable organizations that collaborate to provide disaster readiness, response and recovery services to New York City.

For more photos from the event, please visit the Red Cross Greater New York Region Facebook page. 

Bronx Woman Turns to Red Cross After Electrical Fire

Although Imeh Cuthbertson and her husband had had problems with the power in their Bronx apartment for some time (for example, if their bedroom light was on, their kitchen light was likely to be off, and vice versa), Imeh never expected those problems to escalate into a fire.

But in mid-December, that’s exactly what happened. Imeh, who emigrated from Liberia in 2004 and works nights as a security guard in Queens, and her husband, who came to the States from Nigeria somewhat earlier, went out to an early appointment at 6 am.

When they returned a few hours later, they received a shock: Their street was filled with people and police, and their apartment had been destroyed by an electrical fire.

“I couldn’t take anything out of my house. It was all burnt," she said. "All that I sweat for, all that I worked for!” She despaired, “How am I going to start life over again?”

Imeh had heard that the Red Cross helps people after fires. Yet when the Red Cross worker on the scene first approached her, Imeh was too upset to speak with her.

“The Red Cross lady came in, and she said, ‘How you doing, ma’am?’ She walked with me; she was so sweet, she was so kind, even though I was crying. She almost burst into tears, too. She said, ‘You relax; when you’re ready you come to me.'”

After a time, Imeh calmed down. She conferred with the responder, who provided her and her husband with emergency housing at a local motel, and a debit card with funds for emergency food and clothing. Imeh later came to Greater New York Red Cross regional headquarters in Manhattan, where a caseworker helped her with next steps.

“We never know what tomorrow has for us,” Imeh said. “Anything can happen. And if anything does, I think Red Cross is the best."