Who can forget the images from Hurricane Katrina - the people stranded on their roofs, the murky water submerging miles of homes, the helplessness of the people at the Superdome. Those images inspired me to get involved. 

Three days before Hurricane Gustav made landfall, I boarded a plane in St. Louis and headed for my sixth disaster assignment since becoming a Red Cross volunteer one year ago. I deployed to Covington, LA, which is close to New Orleans. I waited out the storm with 125 other Red Cross workers as Gustav passed over the Gulf Coast region. We were without electricity for two days in the staff shelter. Of course, there were nearly one million others in the region without electricity, too.

“I’m at Baton Rouge headquarters. It’s tough here because there’s no electricity. Gas lines are a mile and a half long. There are no grocery stores open anywhere.

“I’m going to Baton Rouge tomorrow. I’ve been selected for transportation slash warehousing. I’ll monitor all the rental cars that are taken by the caseworkers and staff workers.

Today’s my sixth day on the job. Larry Boyer—another Red Cross volunteer—and I left St. Louis last Thursday to drive the St. Louis Area Chapter’s Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) to Baton Rouge

Click here to view pictures of the press conference and shelter center

 

St. Louis, Sunday, August 31, 2008 - The American Red Cross St. Louis Area Chapter is preparing a shelter today in anticipation of up to 600 Hurricane Gustav evacuees arriving in St. Louis from Louisiana; Governor Blunt will host a press conference at the shelter at 2:00 p.m. today to discuss Missouri's role and response to Hurricane Gustav.On Saturday, Governor Blunt announced that Missouri entered into an agreement with Louisiana to shelter < Read More »

 

I have been back in Missouri for several days after being deployed as a Red Cross volunteer to Southern Texas, following the landfall of Hurricane Dolly. During the one week I was there I served as a government liaison, assisting the two local volunteers who had been working around the clock prior to Dolly's landfall.

I have been a Red Cross volunteer for seven years now, and let me tell you that every day brings a new experience. Some days I am a Mental Health Instructor, teaching other volunteers how to provide emotional support and care to individuals and families affected by disasters.

I am a volunteer for the local Disaster Action Team (DAT) and we respond to local disasters, primarily house fires, 24-hours a day, 365-days a year. Fires can be traumatic for nearly all involved, especially children.