Volunteers helped those affected most by Superstorm Sandy
The devastation that Hurricane Sandy created in late October 2012 could be seen through photos shown on TV and shared via email and social media. But those images cannot compare to seeing it firsthand. Wayne and Charolette Zimmerman, both 67, of Glenwood, and Karen DeMorett, 72, of Sedan, are all volunteers with the American Red Cross. The trio volunteered their time to help support those who were affected by this natural disaster. A retired psychologist, Wayne volunteered to help with Hurricane Sandy as a disaster mental health worker assisting with the mental health of those affected by the traumatic event. He has over 20 years of experience with the Red Cross. He has provided mental health support to individuals affected by local disasters, such as the 2010 Wadena tornado, and he offered his support to victims of Hurricane Ike in 2008. He found that after retirement he was able to become more involved and had more time to devote to deployments as a volunteer. Because travel is nearly impossible immediately after a hurricane, the Red Cross began its efforts before the hurricane hit by organizing shelters. The shelters are usually located on high ground away from the shoreline. Schools and churches are often ideal places to set up rescue areas. Wayne stayed at a hotel when the hurricane hit. “I was able to listen to the doors bang and the windows chatter and watch it on television at the same time,” the Glenwood man said as he recollected his true surround sound experience. His first trip to the East Coast lasted three weeks and he was assigned to a shelter near White Plains, N.Y. There was no flooding in that area, but trees were down, and there were power outages throughout the region. Only about five clients (persons in distress from the storm) were staying at the White Plains shelter. The others were hospital employees seeking refuge. He recalled one client at that shelter was a woman who the fire department had found sitting in her front yard confused and not knowing what to do. She was brought to the shelter and was unable to return to her home. The volunteers worked with her to help her find friends and family that would be able to assist her. “The woman was fiercely independent and didn’t want to bother anyone,” Wayne remembered. She was hesitant to give out the names of relatives. Although challenging, the Red Cross was able to find a place for the woman to stay. The retired psychologist was quick to mention that, in a sense, all of the volunteers provided psychological first aid. They listened to the stories of victims and provided a lot of support. When staff members would come across people they were particularly concerned about, they would contact a mental health worker to visit with the individual. Sometimes it might be an assessment to see if they needed to be referred to a local mental health person. Wayne did not provide therapy, mostly a listening ear to those in need – allowing them to share their stories and hardships. The White Plains shelter was only in operation for a couple of days. Power was restored in that area, and he was relocated to the east end of Long Island toward the Hamptons. He helped out in shelters as he traveled. When the need in a particular area dissipated, the shelter would close and the mental health worker would move on to the next location. Mineola, N.Y., had a large shelter with over 900 clients consisting of all ages. It was located in a college with two floors and two gymnasiums. People had to adjust to living together. Four-hundred to five-hundred people would be in each gym, with cots lined up one after another. The front desk volunteers signed clients in and out of the shelter – keeping track of people and the logistics of providing people with food, cots, bedding and supplies. It was a large operation. Many local community volunteers also assisted the Red Cross. Charolette and Karen joined Wayne on the second trip back to the East Coast in early December. Six weeks later, the damage that Hurricane Sandy had left behind was all around them. There was garbage along the streets. Items such as mattresses, furniture, clothes and sheet rock were hauled into mountainous piles of debris that scaled 15 to 20 feet in the air. Mold was also a huge issue in the areas where there had been water. The two women, both retired registered nurses, volunteered in the disaster health services area. Karen mostly assisted in calling people who were referred and answered healthcare calls from those affected. Charolette worked on an outreach team assigned to go door-to-door in the communities along the shoreline where there was water damage. The calls that Karen took were those of healthcare needs – victims whose glasses were washed away or whose wheelchair, walker or cane could not be found. She could secure these things for them and assist them in other ways. The women worked in poor to middle class areas. “People even lost their false teeth, and we had to try to help them find a place to regain these types of things without spending a fortune,” Karen explained. “We had to ask if they had lost their item in the hurricane as opposed to some other way,” said Karen. “People were very honest.” She also recalled the resilience of the people, “I was impressed with the New Yorkers attitude about all of this. I thought most of them took it quite well.” She continued, “You think of New Yorkers as being somewhat gruff, but I was really amazed. I thought they were wonderful people.” The Red Cross volunteers received many calls, and everyone who called had a story to tell. “Maybe all you were supposed to do is find them a walker, but in the meantime you heard their story, too, and there were many,” explained Karen. “People need to do that. It was hard in some cases – you almost wanted to cry. The biggest thing was you needed to listen.” One call that Karen made is engrained deeply in her memory. She made contact with a man who needed assistance. He was in his early 40s and was legally blind. When the storm hit, it blew a tree in front of his first-floor apartment door, and he couldn’t get out. The water was at his waist, and he knew he needed to do something. He had two cats he dearly loved, but he had no choice but to open the window and push them out. He then crawled out the window himself somehow managing to keep his cats nearby. He eventually came to live in an upstairs apartment, but he didn’t have any food. He did however, have a gracious landlord that would bring him one meal a day. “I have to get out of here because the floor of this apartment has got mold now,” the man shared with Karen. He was looking for a new place to live and desperately confided that he was “beyond depressed.” She knew this situation was beyond just calling his social worker. So she communicated the story to a mental health worker. Two days later Karen received a message on the phone provided to her by the Red Cross. It was from the gentleman with the cats thanking her. “Those were the days when you think, well, I didn’t do much, but maybe I did help someone,” Karen humbly stated. As part of the outreach team, Charolette saw a lot of the destruction firsthand. Most of the people in the neighborhoods she visited were returning to their homes. The power had been restored; however, there was no heat. The heating systems had been destroyed by the water. Those people were heating their homes with portable heating units that had been supplied by the Red Cross. She recalled the discouragement that many people experienced, “Everything had to be torn out from their homes and replaced. They were frustrated because they didn’t know where the funding would come from. Others had been in their homes for 40-50 years, and now those homes were being condemned.” “Hot spots” were areas of more concern based on the number of calls or referrals that would generate from that area. One experience Wayne recalled was while visiting one of these hot spots nearly six days after the storm had hit. He received a lead that a man with cerebral palsy who lived in an upstairs apartment hadn’t been seen in days, but his car was there. Wayne went to the apartment and banged on the door. He heard no answer. Finally, he heard “Open the door! Open the door!” He found the man with little food or resources. He gave him supplies and food and took his name for returning Red Cross workers to check on again. When Wayne returned to the area, he and Charolette paid the man a visit. Although he had faced terrible challenges and difficulty when the storm had hit, he was now managing better. Another situation he faced was when his team visited an 87-year-old woman. She had lost her home, her car…everything. The woman had respiratory concerns as she had been exposed to mold. She was having a hard time hearing people on the phone and was also concerned that she was going deaf. “She was a pretty sharp gal,” Wayne recalled, and it was evident after visiting with her that there was nothing wrong with her hearing. The team determined that the volume on her phone was turned way down. She was relieved to be able to communicate again and that she wasn’t going deaf. “Simple things can make such an impact on people,” said Wayne. “It is so easy to overlook things if you don’t take the time.” More than 130 volunteers from Minnesota assisted with disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy. Caravans of utility trucks traveled to the East Coast to provide service to those in need. The hotel parking lots were full of these trucks from all over the United States. Emergency response vehicles were set up with cleaning supplies, gloves and masks. Others would serve meals or distribute blankets and flashlights. Both Karen and Charolette were impressed with the Red Cross and its organized efforts. “As a first-time volunteer in one of these natural disasters, it is amazing to see the Red Cross function with 90 percent of its workers being volunteers,” said Charolette. “The purpose of the Red Cross is to be there for the immediate emergency needs, and they don’t claim to be operating independently. It is always as a team system with other resources.” Although the work is hard and the days are long as a Red Cross volunteer, Wayne and Charolette Zimmerman and Karen DeMorett are all thankful for their experiences. Wayne felt especially privileged to hear the stories of those affected by Hurricane Sandy. “It makes you realize how lucky you are to live in the Midwest,” declared Karen. She went on to explain that working with the victims of the hurricane gave her insight as to how strong people are. “I have a spirit of adventure, and I like to go and do things,” said Charolette. “We have so much we can do to help the people with misfortunes.” Anyone can be a Red Cross volunteer. To find out more about becoming a Red Cross volunteer, visit the Red Cross website at www.redcrossmn.org or call (612) 871-7676.