Shelter Stories, Hurricane Sandy 2012
1,419 views · Published 30 October 2012 · 1:12 · Indexed 21 September 2026
Channel: American Red Cross · 2012 · Nonprofits & Activism
New Jersey. By mid-day Sunday, the American Red Cross evacuation shelter in Pleasantville High School was filling with a steady stream of people -- from the elderly to babes in arms -- who were seeking safety in the approach of Hurricane Sandy. Shelter manager Duncan Wiedman and his team -- most of them volunteers from the Southern Shore and Jersey Coast chapters -- were preparing for 150 in the high school and another 150 in the middle school next door. Residents were coming largely from Atlantic City and nearby towns on the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast, but at least one was a vacationer from San Diego. One of the first to sign in was 62-year-old Gordon Schwartz, who was impressed with the efficiency of the shelter operation. "It's amazing, how smoothly it's going," he said. Schwartz, who doesn't drive, was brought to the shelter by the fire department of his home town of Margate, N.J. "This is when you appreciate living in this country and organizations like the Red Cross," he said. "I'm going to stay here until it's safe to go home." Registration volunteer Linda Kolman smiled at Schwartz's compliment. A Red Crosser since Hurricane Katrina, she agreed: "We try to do things better every time." Mary Hakes and her husband, Ricky Bunch, left their home in Absecon, N.J., first thing Sunday. "It was flooding around our house at 8 this morning," Mary said. "We don't have anywhere else to go. We don't have any family around here. You're the best!" The spirit of neighbors helping neighbors was alive and well throughout the shelter. Red Cross nurse volunteer Lucy Perna of Atlantic City took careful notes of any medical conditions that the residents reported, including pre-existing conditions and prescriptions they brought with them, or for which might need refills. Lucy and her husband, Angelo, have been Red Cross volunteers since 2004. "We were taking a little 'sabbatical,' but we came back (to volunteering) for this," she said. Meanwhile, Sonya Carlson was busy registering residents just a few hours after arriving from Fargo, N.D. Although this is her first deployment to a major "national" disaster relief operation, she's a veteran of several relief operations in her home state. "That's when people come to help us," she said with a smile. For some of the shelter residents, this first encounter with the Red Cross is an eye-opener. But for others, the Red Cross has already been there for them in times of need. Sitting on the cots they had claimed as their "refuge in the storm," Barry and Lisa Mans of Pleasantville recalled just two years ago: "We were in a fire in our house in August of 2010. We lost everything. You folks were there for us," Barry said. "You never saw anyone with so much compassion as (the Red Cross recovery counselor). She was small of stature but huge in love." David Simon of Ventnor, N.J., has an even older fond memory of Red Cross help. You people took care of me back in, what was it, 1955? I was stationed in Anchorage in the military. My wife was due to have a baby and I went to the Red Cross to borrow money. That was a god-send." Last year, Simon had to evacuate during the worst of the flooding that followed Hurricane Irene, so this time, he heeded the authorities' advice and took action before the storm hit.
