Gimme Shelter

Editor's Note: Genie Crowe is a volunteer for the Blue Mountain Chapter of the American Red Cross

H urricane Sandy made landfall in the mid-Atlantic on Monday, October 29, with particular damage to New York and New Jersey. Al- though it was only a category 1 hurricane, it was the largest Atlantic hurricane in history with winds covering 1,100 miles wide.

Sandy affected 24 states, including the entire eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine, and as far west as Michigan and Wisconsin. Superstorm Sandy's surge coincided with the coast's high tide, flooding streets, tunnels and subway lines, and cutting power in and around New York City.

One of our WallaWal- la Chapter volunteers, Jill Becker, traveled to the East Coast on October 30, but due to the nor'easter that followed the hurricane and the two feet of snow that fell in Charleston, West Virginia, she was diverted to Chicago and didn't make it to her shel- ter until a day later. Jill was a supervisor at a shelter in Charleston, then later at a shelter in New Jersey.

Due to prior engagements, I was not able to deploy until after November 10. Imme- diately after the hurricane, thousands of "spontaneous volunteers" were put to work in the many city shelters that were established in preparation of the disaster. Oversight of many city shelters was transferred to the Red Cross during the first week after Sandy made landfall. The non-Red Cross volunteers were from nearby communities and were put to work with trained Red Cross vol- unteers.

On November 11, the Red Cross announced the need for trained shelter assistants. Another WallaWalla chapter volunteer , Jan Bainter, and I traveled to JFK Airport on Monday, November 12, where we met up with eight other volunteers who flew in that night from around the country.

The following morning, we drove back down to Man- hattan. After reporting in (in- processing) at the Red Cross headquarters in Manhattan and being briefed on the operation, I was paired up with another shelter assistant from Michigan and with a Red Cross employee from Ohio who had experience man- aging a shelter. As we left Manhattan, we passed Hell's Kitchen, Time Square and Penn Station. That was the extent of my visit to NYC.

We headed out to Nassau County to the shelter at the Nassau Community College about 45 minutes east of Manhattan on Long Island. The shelter consisted of two dorms - one in the main gymnasium and a second one in the basement/smaller gym. Upon our arrival, there were an estimated 650 clients in the facility (down from an estimated 1,500 immediately after Sandy). They included families, grandparents, new- ly born babies (two months old), single men and women, homeless and functional needs individuals (people requiring special attention). The families, single women and functional needs individuals were placed in the top dorm. The single men were placed in the second level dorm. Police presence was noticeable throughout the dorms. Each client was given his or her own cot and blan- kets. They shared the space with three other individuals who had cots around them.

Initially, my responsibility was to help register individu- als in the front foyer of the gymnasium. Registering was a way of keeping track of our clients and handy for lo- gistics purposes (how many meals would the shelter need, etc). Although I didn't arrive until two weeks after Sandy struck, there were still many households without water and electricity.

I was also tasked with monitoring the individuals who entered and exited the building - only clients were allowed into the main dorm areas. This was for the pro- tection of the shelter clients. When I wasn't working the registration table, I was walk- ing around and meeting the clients, hearing their stories and helping them in any way I could.

Sleeping arrangements for the volunteers were exactly the same as for the clients at the community college. The nearby State University of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury had made their sports complex gymnasium available as a staff shelter for Red Cross volunteers. Cots were arranged exactly as they were for shelter clients at the Nassau Community College.

Most of the people I met at the SUNY staff shelter were drivers of Emergency Response Vehicles, ERV's. It was impressive to see more than 75 of these vehicles from all over the U.S. in the parking lot late at night or very early in the day. During the day, they were feeding families who were attempt- ing to stay close to their dam- aged homes or delivering food to shelters.

Toward the end of my first week at the SUNY shelter, a crew of about 20 bucket trucks and tree trimmers ar- rived from Georgia to help in the clean-up of the city. We saw a lot wind damage to the forested areas and trees in nearby neighborhoods.

On my third day there, the staffing manager requested that I "shadow" her so that I could take over her responsi- bilities after she left. No, she couldn't tell my outstanding organizational skills just by looking at me. At the time, I was the only other Spanish- speaking volunteer and she picked me to take over her job - not that speaking Spanish had anything to do with staffing. So, my new respon- sibilities included monitoring the number of Red Cross volunteers, their days off (af- ter working seven days, each volunteer gets a day off), their travel home date (the Red Cross requests at least a two week commitment), their shifts (we had three - 8am to 4pm, 4pm to midnight and midnight to 8am) and their tasks while on duty. Along with monitoring the clients in Dorm 1 and Dorm 2, volunteers were required at the registration table, the in- formation table, the feeding area and the dock area.

Meals for shelter clients and those distributed by ERV's came from more than seven kitchens staffed by the Southern Baptist Church. I heard that some of them came from as far away as Kentucky, Georgia and Texas. However, not all meals were prepared by the Southern Baptists. One of the nights at the client shelter, the dinner was catered by a local Asian restaurant. One night, the Outback Steakhouse catered the meal. Another night, we had Indian food. And the restaurant owners and employees all stayed around and served the clients themselves. It was heart- warming to see these busi- nesses donating their time and food to the clients in the shelters. Thanksgiving? Yes, I enjoyed the meal at the shelter of turkey, mashed potatoes, peas and onions. And even a slice of apple pie! Much to be thankful for.

I was working long hours. I was not homesick or had a chance to think of anything but my responsibilities. So much so that I forgot about (my husband) Fred and our wedding anniversary. I had planned to call Fred early Friday morning and wish him a happy day, but completely forgot about it after getting to the shelter that morning. When he texted me mid- morning to wish me a happy anniversary, I was so sad that I almost cried. I texted him a loving message back. Happy anniversary to us!

Along with the shelter volunteers, the Red Cross de- ployed health services volun- teers (nurses), mental health volunteers (psychologists), and client case workers (who helped clients get assistance). Along with these Red Cross volunteers, FEMA was on location, working with our client case workers to deter- mine available funding for the repair of damaged homes and/or assistance in getting housing.

Another group of professionals on site was DMAT - the Disaster Medical As- sistance Team. This is a group of professional medi- cal personnel who provide rapid-response medical care during a disaster. Although the Red Cross has nurses who could take care of minor medical needs, DMAT was there to take care of more serious medical issues. As it turned out, by the end of the first week, they were deep into working on an outbreak of the Noravirus (the cruise ship virus). More than 50 clients and volunteers had con- tracted the virus. Following CDC guidelines, those with suspected Noravirus were to be placed in isolation. With the limited shelter space, the Red Cross had to move some clients and create an isolated area away from the rest of the clients. For those suspected to have Noravirus, they were asked to move there.

I met some memorable people who were staying in the shelter. A woman with two small children and her parents, the woman from Jamaica who had moved to NY and had lost her second house in five years (the first to the housing crash), the homeless guy from Brooklyn, the feisty woman whose sister was trying to help her but was driving her crazy, the Puerto Rican who spoke no English who would travel three hours each day to work on his damaged home, then return back to the shelter after three hours back late at night to rest for the evening. hey all were so grateful to have this safe place.

However, it wasn't always so safe. The local police who were monitoring the site evicted those who were caught with alcohol, with drugs, or were causing too much disturbance. Items were stolen from some clients and disagreements between clients occurred. But on the whole, it was a quiet refuge and an attempt at nor- malcy. Clients would take off in the morning to go to work and would come back in the evening. Children would be picked up by a local bus and taken to their school and returned back to the shelter afterwards.

I met several Red Cross volunteers from Washington state, California and Oregon. There were three from the Virgin Islands, several from the Canadian Red Cross in Toronto - to name a few with whom was honored to work.

Besides the restaurants that donated meals, local businesses donated time or items. Local musicians would come by the shelter and perform for the clients. Toronto Dominion Bank came with clowns and bal- loons for a "family fun day." Non-denominational church groups would come to pro- vide services. BestBuy do- nated 10 laptops used in the shelter's main office where I worked and six flat screens: three for each dorm - sports on one, children's programs on the second, and news on the other. Art therapists came and visited with chil- dren. Local advocacy groups would come and volunteer their time helping with feeding the clients. Local residents donated mountains and mountains of used clothing donated to the shelter.

Immediately after Sandy, approximately 100 city and Red Cross shelters had been opened. When I arrived, the number was down to 15. At the end of my two-week stay, only two existed with the Nassau Community College expecting to be the last in the greater NY area - all the rest being incorporated into this shelter. The population of the shelter was down to 280. Three more Red Cross Vol- unteers from the WallaWalla chapter recently deployed to help with the relief operation (Sue Bell from Dayton, and Dixie Ferguson and Glenn Hill from WallaWalla) - over 8,000 Red Cross volunteers helped with relief efforts from the storm's onset.