The power of volunteers (Lesson 6)

I am getting very tired of hearing the misrepresentations some people have about the Red Cross. Last night on MSNBC a woman was complaining that she had not seen the Red Cross in her neighborhood. I’m sitting there as exhausted as a whipped dog from nearly three straight days of intensive case management and the Red Cross is being criticized.

What people do not understand is that the Red Cross receives no government money. Its paid staff is miniscule. We have two paid staff at our office. No secretary. The program is run by volunteers. Sometimes we know what we are doing; sometimes we do not. But we try. I do not know how many volunteers are working at Red Cross now but they must be way over 100,000. Who manages the volunteers, sets their schedule, screens them, hugs them when they feel overwhelmed, give them encouragement? Volunteers. The paid staff are wonderful people but they have important administrative stuff to do (find shelters, authorize credit cards, deal with the pointy-heads in DC, etc). Red Cross is amazing because it’s life blood in a great crisis is given by volunteers.

I took a significant amount of time yesterday afternoon helping a local minister’s wife who is working with an extended family of eleven. What a wonderful person who is a determined advocate for these five households. Like most other people, I don’t think she arrived understanding what the Red Cross can and cannot do. So we talked about her families and about the resources we can make available to them in our community. It’s possible that these families have already registered with the Red Cross elsewhere. That limits us in what we can do. Even so, they are settling here and we want to do all we can.

So the next time you call the Red Cross for information and get a slightly different answer the second time, think “different volunteer.” Of if your house is ruined in a community of 750,000, don’t get too upset that there is no Red Cross truck with coffee on your street. (Yes, I understand that people deserve to be angry and upset with the tragic consequences they face.)

Assuming the burden of unfinished business (Lesson 5)

On many occasions, the Gulf Coast families have brought anxiety over unfinished business with them to Kansas. This unfinished business can be a heavy load on their minds. For example, I met with an extended family at their motel over the weekend. They were very worried about a 17-year-old neighbor who was left behind. They had no room for him in their car and did not want to seperate him from his parents who were not at home at the time. Plus, the boy would not leave his pet behind (bless him). The boy was the friend of one of the teenagers in this family who was very upset about his friend's isolation. They were living in an area where Rita came ashore (the eye of the storm passed over their property).

As they talked about their efforts to alert authorities to this young man, I realized what they needed: someone in authority to take the load off their shoulders. The act of writing down what they told me about the boy and his location and promising to do all I could to help him made a visible difference in the mother and her sons. At the time, I was not certain how much we could help given the circumstances. But I could try (we’ve been doing a lot of that at Red Cross). I could feel the burden being transferred from them to me. I don’t want to get all mystical here… but that transfer felt tangible at that moment. They were no longer responsible for getting help. They were freed from the burden. I felt the great responsibility for trying on my shoulders.

Of course, I made it clear to them that my “worker bees” students and I might not be able to reach anyone who could get to the boy. What I promised was persistent trying. I had the information to do the work. The feeling of providing this relief was very rewarding to me. I was willing to do whatever I could to see to it that the young man was rescued, knowing full well the near-impossible task it would be. They understood this difficulty but knew that my promise would be fulfilled.

Happy ending. The family called the Red Cross Sunday night to report that the boy had been rescued by a shrimp boat. No word on the pet, but I would bet it was in his arms when he climbed aboard.

Rita and its aftermath

Lots I could talk about this morning but I have so much to do before 9:00 am I don't have the time. So here are a few things I'd like to write about later:

* Our picnic at our city park was a HUGE succes. Many families from the Gulf Coast. Lot's of our KSU students to help. Great food, including gumbo!

* My first case (Saturday) from Rita and a dramatic effort by a local family to bring them here

* My second and third Rita cases (Sunday) from the same area. The tragedy of a friend left behind.

* The continued efforts of a woman to bring her two horses from Mississippi to Kansas (I will make calls today to see if we can find $$ to help her pay for gas

* The baby steps toward a new program on family to family helping called "DearNeighbors." I purchased the URL http://www.dearneighbors.com (as of today, nothing is there yet)

* The frustration of a new form we have to use and the power of survivor stories as part of the permanent record

* The great tension of expecting HUGE numbers of Rita survivors and the relief that heavily popluated areas were spared (but sad about the families who were affected)

* The unexpected rush of new evacuees from Rita over the weekend and this week

* A student reporter wanting to find a story about "fraud" and my concern that the wonderful families we have served could be a target of suspicion caused by misinformed media releases

Lots to talk about. This is going to be a busy week and the number of case managers we have has declined.

The faith community provides the heart and backbone for relief (Lesson 4)

I have found that churches have an absolutely critical role in giving strength to any relief effort. Most of my students who are helping have deep religious convictions. The families that have stepped up to volunteer have deep religious convictions. Churches provide the backbone of community response. Yet so many on the left of the political spectrum have such disdain for the devoted. My bet is that a majority of Red Cross volunteers, many of them doing very difficult work, have religious conviction. I don't think the Red Cross has any of the students who protest and riot at the economic summits on their volunteer roster. These morons would rather throw bottles at the police as part of a protest for world peace than roll up their sleeves and hand out water and give solace to desperate people.

Prayer

I've always thought of myself as a spiritual guy. I was raised a Catholic and have always appreciated much of my experience in the Church (Catholic grade school, high school, college). Catholicism certainly had an effect on my professional work on courage and the book Raising Courageous Kids. I'm proud that it was published by Sorin Books at Notre Dame.

I'm not a church-going guy at the moment. I have a difficult time accepting the dogma of any organized church. If I belong to anything, I want to be genuine in believing what the denomination believes.

I say this to give background to my comments about prayer. I think there comes a point when there is nothing you can do to affect some outcome. Let's say I have a home in Galveston facing the third worst hurricane in the history of the Gulf. I have left the area and found secure shelter with my family and my pet dog. There is a lot I can do with my family to make a life wherever we are. But of course I worry. Another example. I am a college graduate student who is worried about the impact of the storm on families. I see their heartbraking stories on TV. But I am swamped with course work and teaching responsibilities. I want to volunteer but my priorities interfere.

Neither of us can do anything about the hurricane. Both of us have narrow degrees of freedom. The anxiety and sadness we feel cannot be alleviated by action. But we can pray. Not to steer the hurricane elsewhere. My prayer to God is put a divine hand on the heart of two parents to give them strength as they travel by car right now on an expressway north from Galveston. My prayer to God is to put a divine hand on the heart of the woman who is traveling north to Kansas to pick up a horse trailer to return to Mississippi to retrieve her two starving horses and return here with them. My prayer is for all caring people in our nation to do what they can to help. But there comes a time to look up at the stars at night, take a deep relaxing breath, and reach out to touch divinity with a heartfelt prayer.

Desperation

Had a great meeting with Matt Cobb, the chaplain at Mercy Hospital and Jason Lantz of the Red Cross. It looks as though next Sunday, we will have a "Katrina Backyard Barbecue" at our City Park. The hospital is lining up many restaurants in the area to donate food. I think a small portion of the 70 families we have processed will be there. My guess is more than half has already headed back. We also discussed proceeding on a family-to-family program, a sort of "neighbors helping neighbors" kind of thing.

We had a desperate new intake yesterday afternoon. I wish I would have been in the office to serve as their case manager. A young couple and a baby arrived. Their apartment was destroyed in Mississippi. The young man had recently left the army so he and his partner did not have Gulf Coast driver's licenses. The only thing they had to prove where they lived was a letter from Trent Lot, thanking him for his service in Iraq. He was driving here to reenlist. They were given a Red Cross debit card in Mississippi that was not properly coded and did not work to help them purchase gas. The case manager working with them took all the ID they had to photocopy it and misplaced the originals, so everyone in the office was in a tizzy trying to find them. Betsy found them in the room where they were meeting, placed inside some papers. The case manager was struggling at the end of the day. It was well past 4:00 pm and they were in the same small room I mentioned in an earlier entry that gets quite stuffy and hot.

I had an awful cramp in my leg shortly before 4:00 am and spent the rest of the time this morning fretting about this fine young man and his family. I don’t believe he had to reenlist. We could have found a place for him to stay and work here. He didn’t know that. Everyone in the office really liked the young couple. I’m going to call them on Monday. I want to make sure they are doing ok and to let him know that Betsy and I will be happy to be a contact for his wife and child when he returns to Iraq.

Quiet

We didn't get any new clients yesterday. The Red Cross office is much more quiet and calm. We expect families to arrive over the next several months, as they sort out living arrangements.

I met with the chaplain of Mercy Health Center to discuss a couple of potential programs. We are planning an event to recognize our new families and thank everyone who has offered their time and money to the Red Cross. Not sure how big of an event this will be. Whatever we do, we need to do it soon because many of these families will be moving. The other topic for discussion is a family-to-family matching program that will have a permanent structure in the community. I have done previous work on mentoring (the ParentShare Program) that could be adapted for use in a family-to-family context. Matt is the leader for an interfaith council of pastors (not sure what it's called) and will be meeting with them today to discuss these ideas.

One of my student teams called area hospitals on behalf of a nurse who survived Katrina who is looking for employment. When I called her to let her know what they found, she told me that was heading back to Louisiana to work there. I can imagine the need for nurses is huge.

I have learned a lot over the last two weeks. I have grown to admire the Red Cross, an organization that exists only with the help of volunteers. With the exception of one academic type who I have not seen for more than a week at the Red Cross office, I have discovered wonderful people who volunteered to work together to deal with a stressful situation.

The Truth that Exposes the Lie

I saw three families on Wednesday. The first "family" was my second scam. I managed to discover that they were not from the Gulf Coast after becoming suspicious about the story they had concocted about their experience. After making some calls, I found out that one of them was (?) a resident of Manhattan.

In both cases, the scammer had mixed in some truth with the fabrication. I suppose they do this to try to make their story more convincing. Given just a little truth we can begin tracking someone down to reveal the fabrication. If both of my “families” had sufficient acting talent to build their entire story on a lie, it would be very difficult to refuse them help. The truth is that some people have been dislocated without any papers, including such staples as a driver’s license, library card, credit card, or something official that anchors them to the area. So I imagine the talented scammers are in full bloom, taking advantage of the chaotic circumstance.

In a way, I admire them. In both cases, they were homeless people that had many years of learning how to survive by working the system. My thought was to try to help them for who they are. But they have literally worn out their welcome in the agencies and organizations who work with the homeless in this community. They like being homeless (hard to imagine that) and have no interest in achieving any different lifestyle. They have learned to con people of good will in order to survive. An ordinary person might feel sorry for them. But they have survived by finding the seams in the local culture where they can scheme to get what they need to survive. In some ways, they remind me of gypsies. They go to a community… tap into the services provided by churches and agencies. When they wear out their welcome, they move on. Years later, they are likely to return to work the same con.

Thank goodness I had a great but busy afternoon with two households that were part of an extended family. Wonderful people and two boys of Middle School age. Last night I visited the home where they are staying to drop off some computer games and board games for them to play.

Unusual circumstance

I was the case manager for two young African American eighteen-year-olds yesterday. They have arrived here to stay with one young man's sister who is in the military. The other young man is his best friend. The forms that have to be filled out to register them and get money into their hands for clothing, school supplies, and personal items are not simple. Of course I want to make sure they are completed correctly.

They arrived early so I had to rush from my university office to the Red Cross office. I made it in record time (about ten minutes if anyone is keeping score). The room we were in was very warm and stuffy. I had to treat them as two seperate households on the record, listing both as staying with the sister. So we have two eighteen-year-olds staying with a young adult sister in a small apartment, both sleeping on the floor. They plan on staying here for their entire senior year at the high school. I got them extra funds for purchasing beds. She has to have a bunk bed because of space. I don't think you can get a good bunk bed for $300.

I was feeling awkward about their history, especially the young man who is staying with his friend and his sister. Did he live with his parents or was he estranged from them and living with his friend? I did my best to get the dang forms filled out and get them on their way. There was a lot of paperwork to complete and everything is supposed to be printed in CAPS. I hate writing in CAPS. Very slow.

I wish I could do the entire intake over again. I was expecting younger teens that were siblings. That would have been much simpler to process. I felt awkward and unprepared and rushed. (Gee, that's what all Red Cross Case Managers face around the country). What some have to deal with is fifty-fold in difficulty compared to what we have dealt with here. We have worked with more than fifty families in this area.

I will be at the Red Cross office when it opens this morning. I'm going to call the big sister and see if they purchased the bunk bed. If not, I'm going to call every furniture store in town to see if I can get them to donate one. We gave them a nice chunk of money but not enough to buy a decent bed and have money left over for clothes and school supplies. I wish I could have given all the money to the older sister. I emphasized that they should work together as a team to use the money they received wisely, including food. She is making a huge sacrifice to feed and house these young men, but as adults, they get the money. I tried to prevent potential conflict and poor feelings without acting as though I thought conflict was inevitable.

When I asked about the reception at school, both young men immediately responded with great relief about the warm reception they have received. I was really happy about that. I'm also glad they have each other to share the challenge. I liked them a lot and will be thinking about them throughout the year.

Emergencies are a sprint, preparation a marathon (Lesson 3)

Everything goes triple speed during an emergency. If a framework for translating the good will of volunteers is not already in place, it's too late. Preparing that framework in the absence of the emergency is difficult, because, well, there’s no emergency. Communities that already have a helping system in place are more likely to manage a great demand on their resources. I think the key is to have leadership that can maintain a minimal readiness when there is no demand. In our case, I have been working with a student at the university to form teams of three student volunteers who can be activated quickly to provide assistance with information (a family doesn’t know if their bank still exists. Find out what the family needs to know and report back to the case manager.) At the moment, we have 24 teams of three assembled.

I also hope to set up a volunteer family befriender program, a sort of registry of families willing to work with a family in crisis from outside of the community. I am dusting off material I created for use with “Parent Share,” a mentoring program that involves parents. We have a Press Conference today where I hope to meet Matthew Cobb, Coordinator of Pastoral Care at Mercy Regional Health Center who will serve as coordinator for the “Volunteer Family Sponsor Project.” Lots of details to work out on this. We do have families who might be able to use this support now. Since we are not having the arrival of huge numbers, we have some breathing room to put this together. The phrase for the project was selected at an emergency meeting of the Manhattan Ministerial Association. I like the inclusion of the word “sponsor,” though we have to work out what this really means.

Frustration?

It appears as though Kansas will not be getting the number of families we were told to expect. I can see it now in Houston, Dallas, and other shelters.... no one showed up for the line to Kansas.

There are thousands of cots in Topeka and Wichita all set up and ready to go. Volunteers are waiting patiently. Now we can stand down.

I am feeling both relief and disappointment. Relief that our community won't have to face this challenge, disappointment that our community won't have to face this challenge. Does that make sense? I'm disappointed that I won't be challenged to reach out to these families. I suppose it's possible that Red Cross might want to send me out-of-state, but I'll bet help is not needed in those shelters, at least at this point. We will continue to get a trickle of families coming here, probably for a long time.

I asked another Case Manager how she feels about this. She is disappointed because the work we are doing with the more than thiry families who have arrived provides her with a way to step outside of a severe health threat she is facing. She benefits from being a helper... and she is very good at that.

I can understand why a poor African-American family from the Gulf Coast would look at their prospects for relocation and have little interest in coming to Kansas.

On the other hand, we had one survivor, a young man, get here because of a friend at Ft. Riley. After meeting a couple of times with us, he told his case manager in a New Orleans drawl, "I think I'm going to settle permanently in Manhattan. It's so peaceful."

The health of the helper (Lesson 2)

A couple of days ago I found myself getting very tired, a bone-tired sort of thing. Also a little dizzy. On Friday I started to get a sore throat, the kind of soarness you might get when you are feeling sad and doing a lot of talking. "Sheesh," I told myself, "you are not drinking enough water and the stress of this circumstance is starting to get you down. How long can you sustain this effort?"

Then on Saturday, when I had a moment to really relax, I realized it was not stress alone at all. My allergies had just kicked in big time. When they do, I get extremely tired (like right now), get a sore throat, and headaches. Then a runny nose appears later that only gets worse.

I had to really find a little grim humor in how I was originally thinking. In a way I was kinda relieved. Sure this is stressful, working with survivor families and with other volunteers who are affected in the work. Seeing the stories on television of those affected by Katrina has an effect. But at least my physical problems were not completely associated with the emotional experience. I say completely, because of course stress can affect allergies to some extent. When I associated what I was feeling with the experience of volunteering, it kinda frightened me. I mean, this was difficult, but not that BAD-BAD, not at all like the volunteers working with huge numbers of families in Texas. If I was going to begin to crumble with this circumstance, how could I ever be able to contribute under BAD-BAD circumstances? So realizing that my physical misery had nothing really to do with the volunteering was a relief.

Even so, I did discover how easy it is to stop drinking water when things got very busy and emotional. The first day I did not drink nearly enough. I think we all realized that and were quick to remind each other to keep a water bottle nearby. Urgency tends to narrow a helper's focus beyond oneself. We were more focused on providing water to visitors than for ourselves. Creating mental space for self-care during such periods is VERY important. I knew all this in an intellectual way. It was not until I got so wrapped up in the rush that I realized how easy it is to put it off and neglect one's own health. That's why all the volunteers should help each other to stay healthy to stay strong for those we hope to help.

Putting good will to action (Lesson 1)

One of our case managers was quite upset yesterday with a call we received of a mother separated from her teen son who was traumatized by the death of his best friend (sucked into a manhole while they were walking together through water) and is now in the Houston Astrodome alone.We are flying him here to the Manhattan area to be reunited with his mom. Turn the channel on your TV to find the next tragic tale of survival.

I have learned many lessons in my first week. First, the initial emergence of good will exceeds the capacity of any established framework to put it into action.

We have so many calls from people wanting to do something. We turn people away from the full-day training. Our young volunteer supervisor (one of three paid staff) is COMPLETELY overwhelmed by the magnitude of the surge of good will from the community. People call to offer space in their homes or rental property that is not occupied. They are referred to the Salvation Army (the agency in charge of housing). For a couple of days we didn't have enough phone lines or office space to take emotionally-charged calls. So here we are, with the tremendous resource of good people behind us but not the trained personnel to bring them all together. People call, leave a number and many never hear from us again. Why? Because those of us who can respond did not have the time. We are maxed out in our office with people rushing around trying to get out of each other's way, trying to find space to have a private conversation, to cry with the caller if necessary (let's face it, you can't be stoic all the time), and keep reminding ourselves to drink water to avoid dehydration. Did it have to be this way. Logically, no. But in reality, given the historic nature of what we face, I don't see how it could be different.

It's calming down now. There's more order based on accrued experience. We have more case managers in place. The initial surge of those arriving in vehicles has already occurred and the calls and visits from survivors have declined some. We don't really know at this moment, how many are being airlifted to Kansas. We should have a much clearer idea of what we face by early next week.

Side note: If you find this white on black too difficult to read, please let me know in a message. Don't forget that you can increase the size of text (with the mouse wheel if you have one).

A Friend Replies

A colleague from the east coast wanted to reply to my last entry but was unable to do so. She sent me the message for posting here. Instead of placing it in a reply, I decided to give it more prominance here.

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My friend, I understand your frustration. We all want to help. As a Cooperative Extension colleague, I contacted the Extension Specialists in the affected states to offer my support and materials from when we used them with children in shelters after Hurricane Fran and Floyd in North Carolina. I sent materials then posted them for agent use and training on this website which is also linked through cyfernet.org and EDEN. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/fcs/human/disaster/index.php

My brother (A FEMA Search and Rescue chief) was in Louisiana since the first Sunday when the wind was still blowing. He is coming home today. He is full of stories but says this was so massive (he was also at 9-11 and Oklahoma City, etc) and widespread.
The stage of "acceptance" we are experiencing right now is "blame." It happens every time. In North Carolina the lowlands blamed the highlands for flooding them. If you take a look at the slide set in the website I listed, you can see the stages of recovery. This one will be long and hard.

Yesterday, I went to a seminar on the "Moral Ethics of Non-profit Organizations." Following the keynote speaker, I asked WHO is organizing relief efforts such as this where non-profits are falling over each other trying to be helpful but perhaps adding to the confusion? Everyone wants their own recognition (TV and radio stations, agencies) and it so adds confuses the public in need as to what resources are available. We have built our organizations on control and job compartmentalization. We need models that offer flexibility, cross training and rapid response instead of waiting for some order to move slowly up a chain of command. We need to decentralize decision making in many organizations giving more people the power and responsibility for taking initiative. I recently read (parts of) "The Boundaryless Organization."

There is some good stuff in there.

Creative people will find solutions. New models must emerge. We are looking at multiple new models now- studying them. I have a link to some short descriptions.
I am proud of our country that rises to help others. We rally around and give when we have no more to give but I agree with Chuck- we do need to find new ways of operating!

Frustration

We had a meeting of agencies and organizations this afternoon to begin working together to form a comprehensive plan for supporting the 150 families or so heading our way in the next few days. At least that was the hope.

Unfortunately, it's been a long time since I have felt this frustrated. We had a room full of people of good will without the leadership to pull them together. I'd rather not go into any more detail because anyone can read this blog. For the first time, I've felt a little tinge of panic. Sadly this was a critical opportunity that was wasted. Everyone wanted someone to catalyze the group into a cooperative action.

Have you ever been in a position where you felt like taking over a meeting that was going nowhere? But you couldn't because... well, you couldn't. Sorry if this sounds arrogant. I could be wrong, and in the light of day tomorrow I might think differently. I certainly hope so. We have a wonderful community filled with families that would reach out and help these refugees. But it won't happen if no one provides a framework of opportunity. I'm very tired and saddened by the whole thing.

The Management of Chaos

We feel the burden of dealing with a historic event. With only a couple of paid Red Cross professionals, we have a several offices with people looking to squeeze out any available space. First of all, there is chaos without panic. That's inevitable under these conditions. Chaos does not mean spastic. All the volunteers are friendly, tied together by the realization that we are playing a part in the historic event. So dealing with uncertainty and shifting perspective to adjust to changing people and conditions is necessary. The other noticeable adjustment is making decisions without having administrative endorsement. I cannot describe how busy the few paid professionals are. We all have to decide whether an action requires the head person’s approval or not. There is NO hand holding, except by volunteers who have already been there. On the other hand I think there are actions that must be approved. We are empowered to complete forms that allow survivors to purchase goods from Walmart (and a couple of other places). Certainty is an absolute necessity in this case, so we have to wait to the side to get 30 seconds of time from someone to confirm that the paperwork is correct. There is a very clear sense that personal initiative is important within boundaries. Getting a feel for boundaries is difficult.

More later… I’m working on a document to give out to a community-wide meeting after lunch that lays out a three-phase strategy for working with these 150 families. I’d rather be doing face-to-face work (fortunately I do get some of that) but developing this plan for recovery and then putting it into action is the task I have been assigned.

Stories of Caring

Early in the morning (very early) and trying to maintain just a little slice of normalicy by continuing with my morning start... my dog Cody and me at Panera's--Cody relaxing outside the window tied to a fence where I can see him while I have coffee and work on my laptop.

Some notable events at the Red Cross yesterday:

· A man walked in with a $10,000 check, a donation from a roofing company and its employees

· Two elderly Hispanic women arrived and each one gave us $5 in cash

· A shy five-year-old arrived to give us all the pennies in his little bank

Each one treated like royalty and their caring, each in their own way, is appreciated. Each gave all the incredibly busy volunteers and staff a boost in energy. Thank God for kind people.

Did I mention the elderly woman with a heart transplant? I'll save this whopper of a story for later.

Exhaustion

Long day today. It's after 10:00 pm. I got pulled out of training and brought to the Red Cross office to begin immediate work. I met the most wonderful elder that is the most inspiring person I have ever met. More about her story another time.

I spent the entire day and most of the evening calling and interviewing people who expressed in interest in committing three weeks to the Red Cross. I was especially focused on recruiting volunteers for the full-day training this Thursday. During the early evening, I was asked to provide leadership to recovery efforts for this area, from the point families are placed in motels (for a maximum of two weeks), to longer-term living arrangements, then finally to a more permanent living arrangement. So I have been pulled into the storm and asked to assume responsibility for a very difficult task on issues where my expertise is limited. No problem. 8^)**

The Heartbreak of Pet Separation

Got a call from my daughter Sarah last night. She had seen stories of heartbreaking pet separation on CNN. How can one find words to describe one's experience on witnessing these events? Anger. Rage. Grief. Frustration and powerlessness. I would never leave my ten-year-old Retriever behind. Never. There is no doubt in my mind. Only one exception: to save a human life. If I left him behind, I would never recover from that betrayal.

Recovery. I know the strength of the pet-human bond. I know the impact of the loss. Owners who bring their pets out of the cess pool of Old New Orleans must be permitted to retain control of their animal. Of course there are problems. Travel with a pet. Living in a sports arena with 10,000 people. Who wants a dog barking in the middle of the night under those conditions? Even so, owners must be given an alternative. Sleep outside. Sleep in a car. Sleep in an ally. Don't sleep at all. Whatever. Just don't cut that bond under those conditions. Some of these owners are going to suffer terribly over the long term for having to make the choice of being rescued and abandoning a creature they love.

I can only hope that the American Humane Society is retrieving these animals. Donate to them (click on the title of this post to go to their site). Volunteer for them. Love the pet you have. Go to the pound and adopt a pet to pay tribute to those left behind along the coast.

In another 90 minutes I will be starting the Red Cross training. I don't care where they send me. I just need to be doing something.

Getting Ready for Red Cross Training

I have been feeling anxious about where I might go as a Red Cross volunteer. I was prepared to go where needed. I received a call today (Monday) from the Red Cross and was asked to attend a full day training tomorrow. About 10,000 survivors are headed this way, primarily to Topeka, Kansas City, and Wichita. So with some relief, I was told that all Red Cross volunteers from Kansas would be working in Kansas. I was concerned with the sleeping arrangements, the noise at night, access to restrooms. I may still be living with survivors and eating the same food, but I think I could put up with almost anything that close to home. If it gets too bad, Betsy can jump in the car and rescue me.

I'm really surprised with the speed of movement of the survivors from the coast, to Houston, Dallas, and other gathering points, and now to a smaller group. Not sure how the survivors are traveling. I would think the physical exhaustion and psychological stress will be immense.

The Decision

A few days ago, I read in our paper that our local Red Cross is calling for volunteers for a three-week assignment in support of the response to hurricane Katrina. For the past two days I have thought a lot about volunteering. I feel some anxiety about serving because of the unknowns. I contacted our Red Cross here, and they said that they would be unable to tell me where I would serve. I would live with the families and eat the same food they have. I would be transported to the location by the Red Cross.

The opportunity to serve as a volunteer presents two potential consequences. First, there is the impact the experience might have on me, good or bad. Big unknown at the moment. Second, there is the impact of NOT volunteering when the opportunity presents itself. As a professional who works with parents and children and has some experience with families in crisis, I would lose considerable self-respect by turning away from reaching out with other volunteers to these families. Because of the positive outcomes of providing support, I have decided to volunteer. I just now submitted my application to our local Red Cross to take a full-day training this Thursday on our duties and responsibilities.

I created this Blog just now to serve as a journal of my experience beginning at this moment of deciding to volunteer through the three weeks of my assignment, to the days that follow after my return. As I write these words, I have no idea when or where I will go. As I learn more, I might even back out. I certainly hope not. I may not be able to update this Blog as events unfold if there is no electricity to keep my cell phone charged. If the phone is available I will call in comments to someone to update this Blog. If the phone goes dead, I will snail mail entries. If that is too difficult, I will keep a journal and add all entries when I return.