Disaster - Day 7

Today, I became a National Red Cross Client Services Supervisor. What did you do? Okay, so maybe it's not as impressive as it sounds since everyone on my team was promoted so that we can be in charge of volunteers, but still, it's quite a title, don't you think?

Jacquie and I went out together to do casework today in Bradley County, which was hit pretty hard in many places. Our job is to go to houses that are destroyed or have major damage (as assessed by the Red Cross) and see if there is anything we can do to help the residents. If the people aren't there, we're supposed to leave a note with Red Cross information, saying that they can call us if they need help with anything. We try to leave this note in a place where they'll see it if they come by, so we tape it to the door if we can, or to a mail box if the house is too dangerous looking to approach. I can't tell you how many lots we bypassed completely because there wasn't enough of a house left to tape anything to. I have never seen such complete and utter destruction. It was really sad.

We talked to a few people that had major damage done to their houses, and they all kept stating how lucky they are, and how it could be worse. I am constantly struck by how upbeat the majority of these folks are who have lost so much. One couple's response when Jacquie and I asked if there was anything we could do for them was to tell us how grateful they are for the work we do, and then they asked us if we'd like some cold water to drink. Their house is so majorly damaged, they were just stopping by to get some things they'll need while staying in a motel, but they asked us how we were doing and tried to help us.

Another thing I want to talk about are the volunteers I've had the pleasure of working with this past week. Shelly, a local homeschool mom, comes in every day to help us with case work, and she is one of the nicest people I've ever met. Mike is a local guy who has showed us the ropes, and is always ready to go out on a new case. Debby is a volunteer from the Knoxville chapter of the Red Cross, who is practical and compassionate, and has acted as a caring mother to our team. Rob and Steve are brothers who both attend a college in Michigan and started driving South after finals when they heard about all of the disaster damage. They wanted to help, but didn't know how, so they just got in the car and then started calling agencies when they approached areas that had been hit by tornadoes. They ended up in a two day training in Knoxville, then were sent to our disaster offices in Chattanooga to help in our Client Services department. Steve, Rob, and Debby all left today as they had things to get back to, and it was difficult saying goodbye. I suppose in this type of stressful, slightly traumatizing environment, you get attached to people pretty quickly. I'm so tired of saying goodbye to people. I think that's been the hardest thing this year: saying goodbye.