48 Colorado and Wyoming Volunteers Deploy to Texas and Louisiana
Red Cross Volunteers Support Hurricane Laura Relief Efforts
Hurricane Laura left terrible devastation in her wake in Louisiana and Texas – and the Red Cross is there, working closely with local officials and partners to help those impacted as they begin to pick up the pieces.
We have mobilized nearly 1,000 trained disaster workers to support relief efforts on the ground or virtually. To date, the Red Cross of Colorado & Wyoming has sent 48 disaster responders to the gulf coast to provide support before, during and after the storm.
The Red Cross has teams of volunteers circulating through accessible areas to assess damage and provide ready-to-eat meals, water and snacks. Beginning yesterday, the Red Cross and our partners are setting up service sites in Calcasieu and Beauregard parishes where people can get water, food and emergency relief supplies.
As people are allowed to return back to their local communities after evacuating, the Red Cross will help to ensure they have a safe place to go. Red Cross workers are also helping to replace prescription medications, eyeglasses and offer emotional support to people whose lives have been turned upside down. In preparation to serve tens of thousands of meals daily, the Red Cross is working with the World Central Kitchen, the Salvation Army and the Southern Baptist Convention to set up kitchens.
The Red Cross has developed new policies to align with CDC safety recommendations and has created a series of virtual trainings and materials to ensure our disaster responders are aware of the changes and prepared to respond to disasters. Ensuring people have a safe place to stay during a disaster is a critical part of the Red Cross mission, but how we support sheltering efforts during the pandemic may be different in each community, depending on local emergency operations plans. Our physical presence may not look the same as it did before the pandemic, but rest assured that we are still providing comfort and support to anyone in need after a disaster. During this pandemic, while the nation is practicing social distancing, we’re now providing some disaster relief virtually, including mental health support and financial assistance.
Thomas Bethke – a volunteer from the Mile High chapter strike team, will deploy to Texas as a member of the Sheltering team. As such, he will be providing a safe and secure place for individuals and families to stay during and after the storm.
James Boardman – a volunteer from the Southeastern Colorado chapter strike team, will deploy to Louisiana as a member of the Sheltering team.
Roy Breen – a volunteer from the Northern Colorado chapter strike team, will deploy to Louisiana as a member of the Sheltering team
Clark Buck – a volunteer from the Mile High area has been deployed to Louisiana as part of the Sheltering team.
Linda Bullock – a volunteer from the Mile High chapter strike team, will deploy to Texas as a member of the Sheltering team.
Angela Bye – a volunteer from the Mile High area has been deployed to Louisiana as part of the Disaster Assessment team.
Karen Campanella-Green – a volunteer from the Northern Colorado chapter, will deploy to Louisiana as a member of the mental health services team. As such, she will provide mental health support to people in need following a disaster.
David Clark – a volunteer from Southeastern Colorado has been deployed to Louisiana as an Emergency Response Vehicle Driver.
Leroy Cline – a volunteer from Northern Colorado has been deployed to Louisiana as an Emergency Response Vehicle Driver.
Terry Cline – a volunteer from Northern Colorado has been deployed to Louisiana as an Emergency Response Vehicle Driver.
Katherine Coffey – a volunteer from the Mile High chapter strike team, will deploy to Texas as a member of the Sheltering team.
Monica Cook – a volunteer from Wyoming has been deployed to Louisiana as an Emergency Response Vehicle Driver.
Edward Duball – a volunteer from the Southeastern Colorado chapter, will deploy to Texas as a member of the health services team.
Diana Dalager – a volunteer from the Mile High area has been deployed to Louisiana as an Emergency Response Vehicle Driver.
Cora Davis – a volunteer from Southeastern Colorado has been virtually deployed to support the Situation Unit in Louisiana.
Julian Delgado – a volunteer from the Mile High area has been deployed to Louisiana in support of Disaster Health Services.
Peter Dunn – a volunteer from the Mile High chapter strike team, will deploy to Texas as a member of the Sheltering team.
George Evans – a volunteer from the Mile High area has been deployed to Texas as part of the Logistics team.
Dana Goldsmith – an employee from the Mile High chapter will virtually deploy to Texas as a member of the Staff Services team.
Bontiea Goss – a volunteer from the Mile High chapter strike team, will deploy to Texas as a member of the Sheltering team.
Bryan Hartmann – a volunteer from the Mile High area has been deployed to Louisiana as an Emergency Response Vehicle Driver.
Tom Hobbs – a volunteer from the Mile High chapter will deploy to Texas as a member of the Feeding team.
Elizabeth Vanessa Hoener – a volunteer from Southeastern Colorado has been deployed to Louisiana as a member of the Disaster Health Services team.
Brandon Hunnicutt – a volunteer from the Mile High chapter, will deploy to Louisiana as a member of the technology networking team.
John Huntz – a volunteer from Southeastern Colorado has been deployed to Louisiana as an Emergency Response Vehicle Driver.
Lorraine Janson – a volunteer from Northern Colorado has been virtually deployed to Louisiana as a supervisor of a Disaster Assessment team.
Peggy Johnson – a volunteer from Southeastern Colorado has been deployed to Virginia as a member of the sheltering team.
Loni Koller – a volunteer from the Mile High Chapter, will virtually deploy to Texas as a member of the Disability Integration team.
Carol Miller – a volunteer from the Northern Colorado chapter, will deploy to Louisiana as a member of the Disaster Assessment team.
Darlene Moore – a volunteer from the Northern Colorado chapter will deploy to Texas as a member of the Damage Assessment team.
Robert Munson – a volunteer from the Southeastern Colorado chapter, will deploy to Louisiana as a member of the health services team. As such, he will provide health support to people in need following disaster.
Scott Murphy – a volunteer from the Mile High chapter strike team, will deploy to Texas as a member of the Sheltering team.
Leslie Orser – a volunteer from Western Colorado has been deployed to Louisiana as a member of the Disaster Mental Health team.
Jane Peterson – a volunteer from the Mile High chapter strike team, will deploy to Louisiana as a member of the Sheltering team.
Jordan Poythress – a volunteer from Southeastern Colorado has been deployed to Louisiana as part of the Distribution of Emergency Supplies team.
Diana Rarich – a volunteer from the Mile High area has been deployed virtually to Louisiana as part of the Disaster Mental Health team.
Sylvia Raumaker – a volunteer from the Wyoming chapter strike team, will deploy to Texas as a member of the Sheltering team.
William Schmidt – a volunteer from the Mile High chapter strike team, will deploy to Texas as a member of the Sheltering team.
Carolyna Smiley-Marquez – a volunteer from Northern Colorado has been deployed virtually to Louisiana as part of the Disaster Mental Health team.
Robert Springer – a volunteer from the Mile High chapter strike team, will deploy to Louisiana as a member of the Sheltering team.
Julia Stamper – a volunteer from Northern Colorado has been deployed to Louisiana as part of the Sheltering team.
Robert Thomas – a volunteer from the Mile High area has been virtually deployed to Louisiana as a Supervisor of the Situation Unit team.
Thea Wasche – a volunteer from Southeastern Colorado has been deployed to Louisiana as Supervisor of a Feeding team.
Bruce Weiner – a volunteer from Southeastern Colorado has been deployed to Louisiana as an Emergency Response Vehicle Driver.
Hugh Wilson – a volunteer from Southeastern Colorado has been deployed to Louisiana as part of a Spiritual Care team.
Christopher Wood – a volunteer from the Western Colorado chapter, will deploy to Texas as a member of the Sheltering team.
Darrah Yates – a volunteer from the Mile High area has been deployed as a member of the Damage Assessment team to Louisiana.
A typical deployment for a Red Cross disaster responder is 14 to 21 days. During that time, the responders will focus on the specific needs of those affected by the disaster as they move toward recovery.