Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Red Cross volunteers distributing food and supplies
In the overnight hours of Aug. 28 into Aug. 29 the shelter population at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, nearly tripled to over 9,000 residents (nearly twice the size of Worland). "No one will be turned away." Was the mantra of service at the Houston Mega Shelter. Pictured is one of five bays of dormitories at the shelter. In the overnight hours of Aug. 28 into Aug. 29 the shelter population at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, nearly tripled to over 9,000 residents (nearly twice the size of Worland). "No one will be turned away." Was the mantra of service at the Houston Mega Shelter. Pictured is one of five bays of dormitories at the shelter.
HOUSTON, TX – From her command center in Gillette, Red Cross Disaster Program Director Cindi Shank has been busy manning the phones and coordinating relief efforts and donations, while 21 volunteers with the Wyoming-Colorado region Red Cross work in Texas to help those displaced by Hurricane Harvey, and the resulting flooding in southeast Texas.
"I'll be going down [to Texas] in two weeks, and frankly, we will probably be involved there for years," said Shank, by phone.
"The Wyoming Red Cross is considered a Level One response group due to our experience with wildfires," said Shank. "Wyoming has a lot to be proud of with our volunteers."
Currently, Executive Director Spencer Pollack is running external relations for the group out of a shelter in Houston, while volunteers from across Wyoming have been deployed to Houston, Dallas, Austin, Beaumont and parts of western Louisiana. Two more volunteers left Lander for Houston on Thursday, with a focus on offering mental health and medical services at shelters.
"There are 35 shelters open right now, and our main focus is making sure people get the things they need," said Shank.
While many of the roads are still closed in flooded areas, the Red Cross has been working with the Texas National Guard to use high-profile vehicles and boats to get donated food and clothing to open shelters.
"Houston wasn't the only place affected by the hurricane, so getting out to the smaller towns is a big focus right now," said Shank.
While people in Wyoming have been gracious with their donations to the Texas flood victims, Shank warns that monetary donations are more helpful, from a logistical standpoint.
"There's no way to get this stuff [food donations] down there, and it's almost impossible to disperse it when it gets there," said Shank. "The expense and manpower involved is more than we can handle, plus we have no place to store large donations."
Shank recommends, for the time being, donations of money either to the Red Cross, or to an organization working directly with the flood recovery, such as the Salvation Army, or Team Rubicon, a group of veterans that respond to disaster areas around the country.
Another donation the Red Cross in Wyoming can always use is volunteers.
With only three full-time Red Cross managers in the state, and only one current volunteer in Washakie County, Shank stresses the need for more people to become involved, if even for donation management.
With a coverage area from South Dakota to Yellowstone National Park, Shank relies on volunteers to keep communities prepared and respond to emergency situations, but always needs more.
"It doesn't have to be an individual volunteer either," said Shank, "we rely on groups as well. Church and civic groups can also volunteer." Shank noted that the LDS church in Big Horn County is a sheltering volunteer in case of a disaster, and churches usually make good volunteers due to their already in-place facilities and membership.
Potential Red Cross volunteers in Wyoming are encouraged to contact Cindi Shank at 307-689-0886.
No medical or emergency experience is needed to volunteer.
