By Pat Kondas, American Red Cross of Colorado and Wyoming Public Affairs
American Red Cross shelters are beacons of hope in any disaster, and it’s no wonder many people seek out the familiar symbol when their world has been turned into chaos. Besides finding a sanctuary of warmth and safety, many people find respite from whatever disaster has disrupted their lives
As a Red Cross volunteer since 2009, Lori Halverson has seen her share of disasters. As part of a shelter team during the Marshall Fire, she said her main job was helping clients by providing emotional support and helping them see a path forward”.
Many people came to the shelter for information, even though they weren’t staying at the shelter. “They just needed to find out what to do,” Lori said. “They didn’t even know where to begin to recover.” She said, “We just took their information and signed them up for casework and talked to them.”
Many of the people who came to the shelter were in shock. Lori says that she isn’t a Mental Health counselor, but she just tried to provide emotional support. She said there were MH professionals there to help with issues that went deeper, but “just having somebody to listen to you and hear your story is huge for people in recovery, because it gives them a chance to process it – process it in their minds, and process it out loud. And you can just see how it helps people, when you sit and just listen.”
Besides sheltering, Lori is a Disaster Action Team captain. She does other things for Red Cross, but says what she likes best is working with the clients. “ Any time I can interact with clients – that’s where I get satisfaction,” she says. “I think – where would these people be if there was no Red Cross? It just makes me proud to serve people through the Red Cross’s mission.”
Lori said one of the things she always tries to do in a shelter is give people jobs – even if it’s just helping her unload things or giving out water –”…just anything that gives them a sense of control over their situation – to get some control over what’s going on around them and to feel that they’re helping in some way. That makes a huge difference for people’s recovery.”
The Red Cross is proud to have you as a volunteer. Thank you, Lori, for helping people in their recovery from this traumatic event.