May 19, 2013
Wayne Maddox is a Red Cross volunteer from Dothan. He’s at an old Wal-Mart building in Tyler, Texas which has been turned into a shelter.
“We provide a sleeping area- cots, blankets, pillows, also we have a serving line for food, we are serving 3 meals a day, and then also some snacks in between."
The building is occupied with 1700 evacuees from the Texas coastline.
Some may return home only to find their homes destroyed by hurricane Ike.
"They were very concerned and for some of them we have a communication center set up here and some did receive some bad news so that was sad to watch but we have also had some good news which made very glad people, very happy people, so we were pleased to see that." Says Maddox
Back in Dothan, the wiregrass area Red Cross is sending off its emergency response vehicle- known as ERV.
"We actually take cooked meals and feed them out of the window to the effected areas. We have a route set up that we go by." Says Larry Mims, a Red Cross E.R.V Driver.
But before the volunteers are sent out to help, they must go through some extensive training.
"In our mass care training they are taught to shelter, that is taking care of the masses to do that bulk feeding. We also have a special class for our E.R.V drivers” says Susan Holmes, Executive Director of the Wiregrass Area Red Cross
Because of the extensive damage from recent hurricanes, The Red Cross is expecting to house victims in shelters for the next several months.
And of course the American Red Cross is always looking for new volunteers.
If you think it is something you would be interested in, you can learn more by calling the number on the bottom of you screen.
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