American Red Cross Disaster Newsroom

Written by Joellen Barak

NEW YORK, NY, January 12, 2013 – 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 says. She 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.

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Joellen Barak

NEW YORK, NY, January 10, 2013 – Since the time of Clara Barton, American Red Cross nurses have been iconic in images on the battlefield, helping the wounded, or vaccinating children in faraway places. But today’s Red Cross nurse, especially a disaster nurse, fills many more roles.

Over two months after Superstorm Sandy, teams of Red Cross nurses are still seeing and talking to survivors every day. Jeanne Spears is the chief disaster health services nurse for the Sandy response. Most of the people Spears and her teams see are now housed in hotels and other transitional housing. Spears says that the 2-4 home-visit appointments and 20-25 phone calls her team takes per day run the gamut of disaster victim needs.

“At this time, we’re not replacing lost medicines,” Spears says, “but we are reassessing needs that were presented earlier, including medicines and durable medical equipment.” For example, if a someone needed a walker after the storm, nurses check in to see if that need still exists, and to assess if there are other health needs that should be addressed.

Spears and her team work closely with Red Cross caseworkers and the casework call center. She commends the caseworkers, “They do a good job of identifying needs that we can help with.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Carl Manning

When Michelle Carney took her winter break as a student at the University of California-Berkeley, she knew she wanted to do more than hang out with friends and family.

Active in the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter in San Francisco for the past three years, Michelle knew she could help those affected by Hurricane Sandy that struck the East Coast.

For over two weeks Michelle has been among those working on a Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicle handing out hot food, drinks, and snacks in the hard-hit Rockaways on Long Island, NY. She said the hot meals have been especially appreciated in frigid temperatures by those unable to cook in their homes.

Since the storm struck in October, much has changed in the Rockaways. Tons of sand that once covered the streets has been removed and electrical power has been restored to much of the area. Yet, there is still a need to provide food and other basic necessities to people striving to recover from the disaster.

“We want to be out here helping and this is the most hands-on way to provide assistance,” she said.
Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Adrian Brune

A call came in; an urgent dispatch went out. A far Rockaways resident – partially blind and in declining health – on one of the top floors of a high rise had gone without his diabetes medication for days. He needed urgent assistance.

Nurse Margie Simmons and Jeff Lichorobiec, a mental health specialist – both volunteers with the Red Cross – contacted area pharmacies for an emergency supply. After one pharmacy turned them away, the NAACP Disaster Relief Team took the case: Driving over to the apartment of Rabbi Melvin Williams, the team – known internally as the “strike team” – loaded Mr. Williams into the van and took him to a local Duane Reade where the prescription was signed, sealed and delivered without a hitch.

Williams’ invitation to Christmas dinner was just a bonus for the strike team, a crew of about 100 members from chapters across the country that has been on scene to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy since two days after the devastating storm made landfall on Oct. 29. With a 1981 mandate to work in tandem with the Red Cross whenever and wherever disaster hits – including New York 31 years later – the NAACP has helped put the city back together by feeding victims in Breezy Point, distributing supplies in Coney Island and, on occasion, triaging a convalescent in the Rockaways.

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Caroline Boardman

NEW YORK, NY (Dec. 29, 2012) – It’s been 63 days since Superstorm Sandy made landfall in New York and New Jersey and there are still more than 1,000 Red Cross workers assisting with the relief and recovery efforts.

Cold temperatures and snowy conditions may have arrived in much of the Northeast, but that has not deterred the dedication and compassion of Sandy and Joe French, Red Cross volunteers from Santa Cruz, CA.

“We’ve been here in New York for the past eight days, working through the holiday. We’ve been volunteering with the Red Cross for the past eight years,” said Sandy French. “We got married just so we could go out on deployments together,” joked Joe, cracking a smile.

Out in the battered, seaside Rockaways, their spirits and energy levels were high as they drove the Red Cross emergency response vehicle (ERV) on their now familiar and daily mobile feeding route.

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Colleen Shanahan

Things don’t just happen on a disaster operation, they need to be planned, organized, managed and executed. This process involves a lot of different people with different talents in numerous locations. Ronny Crosby and Manuel Torres are two critical elements of this process on DR 145, Hurricane Sandy. Ronny and Manuel did not know each other before this operation, but agreed that one of the best things about being here is making new friends. They understand that each person’s role is valuable and we are all one team wanting to accomplish the Red Cross mission.

Ronny and Manuel both work in Logistics – Transportation. They help with the coordination and management of the rental vehicles on this operation, making sure each one gets to where it is needed and remains operational. Logistics also does follow-up to track all vehicles, including damaged or missing rental cars. They ask that you help them out by reporting all accidents, making sure your car is still needed, (not sitting unused in a garage) and turning it in trash- free and filled with gas.

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by Michele Maki.

Christmas came early this year. For a South River resident, it will be a Christmas to remember above all others. Kathleen Piscicelli from Middlesex County recounts the terrifying night that changed her life and the Christmas miracle that then occurred. “I didn’t think the hurricane was going to be so bad; I thought it would be like hurricane Irene, so I wasn’t too worried. I went to bed that night, then Sandy hit. My husband woke me up and told me the water was coming in, and we had to get out. I couldn’t walk, so my husband carried me out and the neighbors took us in. I was so scared.”

For nine days, and without power the Piscicelli’s, their neighbors and their neighbor’s friends hunkered down by candlelight. “I didn’t know these people, but they took us in. We’re strangers, and they still took us in.” Piscicelli exclaims.

Once power was restored, the hunt for more permanent shelter began. “We stayed in a motel for a while, then found another place. But since I lost my wheelchair in the storm, I couldn’t get out. My husband had to carry me because I can’t walk. When the Red Cross came, I knew things were going to look up.”

Red Cross recovery caseworkers Angie Day and Triet Nguyen were interviewing Piscicelli and listening to her story of surviving the storm. “I realized that no one had taken the time to listen to her story and her needs. She’s been trapped in her room, like a prisoner.” Day explained. “We knew we needed to act on this need, quickly.” Day and Nguyen lost no time. Within hours they had contacted the Red Cross Health Services manager Mary Steece, RN for help. “ We knew that her need to become mobile was paramount to her recovery process.” She explained.

Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK, N.Y., December 10, 2012 – When Hurricane Sandy unleashed its wrath on the East Coast, members of the Cruz Roja Mexicana (Mexican Red Cross) started packing their go bags and gear. Within days, 10 volunteers arrived at the American Red Cross Disaster Operations Center in White Plains to get their marching orders.

But for Issac Oxenhaut, director of disaster services for the Mexican Red Cross, the first 10 weren’t enough. To help with the ongoing disaster relief – across the affected region, the Red Cross provided more than 95,000 people with health services and 156,000 shelter stays in November – he sent 10 additional volunteers who arrived days later to fill the exigent need. Oxenhaut said they came for the simple conviction to help all suffering at home – or far from home.

“We are good friends with the American Red Cross… to us, there is only one Red Cross in the world and we all are part of it,” said Oxenhaut, who has been with the Red Cross for 40 years and involved in the relief of hundreds of disasters, including the devastating 1985 Mexico City earthquake. “It’s very meaningful for us to give people the best that we can give.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by: Lilly Watson

NEW YORK, NY, December 7, 2012 – Anita Laffey, the current mental health leader for the Hurricane Sandy New York disaster relief operation, has a tried and true motto when it comes to the importance of staying healthy during a disaster: “Work smarter, not harder.”

The Red Cross responded immediately after Hurricane Sandy made landfall on Oct. 29, mobilizing more than 15,300 trained workers to perform myriad disaster relief services. In more than a month of 15-, 16- and sometimes 18-hour days, very few have succumbed to exhaustion or major illness, but the danger always lurks.

Laffey said Red Cross workers must realize that to take care of others, they have to take care of themselves. “We care so much, or we wouldn’t be here,” Laffey says. “We want to go gung ho and help everyone else, but if we give too much, we burn out and become the people that suddenly need help.”

The two biggest mistakes Laffey said she witnesses are Red Cross workers acting as if they can meet the needs of every affected community by themselves, and neglecting their own care. When it comes to concrete ways Red Cross workers can stay happy and focused during their deployment, Laffey offers five simple tips that everyone can follow:

Read the rest of this entry »

Written by: Emily White

NEW YORK, N.Y., November 22, 2012 – For the Red Cross, Hurricane Sandy created a logistical and strategic array of challenges previously unseen in disaster relief. For a group of New York techies, it bore the design and development of the latest and greatest 21st century gadgetry for 21st century problems.

This was the inspiration behind weekend-long Relief Agency Conference and Hackathon that brought more than 70 tech gurus together in support of the Red Cross effort to help New York recover from the worst natural disaster in its recorded history. Many of the “computer geeks” had already volunteered their time and talents to set New York back on its feet, but they found extra energy to provide modern solutions for demands such as: interagency coordination, data management, volunteer engagement, survivor reunification and resource dissemination.

“The NY Tech Meetup community is about more than just technology; it’s about helping the city come together whenever there is a need” said Jessica Lawrence, managing director of NY Tech Meet up, a 28,000-strong nonprofit organization that supports the growing New York technology community. “Hurricane Sandy had a devastating impact on a huge number of New Yorkers, and we are ready to do our part to speed the recovery.”

Read the rest of this entry »