Red Cross Helps Kentuckiana Clean Up

Written by: Amy Miller, Kentucky Region

Pictures by: Kristen Perdue, Virginia

The Riviera neighborhood is no stranger to floods. Located just outside of downtown Louisville and situated on the south bank of the Ohio River, the neighborhood is subjected to the whims of the river whenever the water breaks its banks.

This latest soaking was no different. Residents of Riviera woke to another day of water-soaked streets, homes filled with mud, and the beginning of another extended clean-up a week after widespread flooding impacted residents in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Sunday was their day to start cleaning.

That afternoon, the American Red Cross was there to help.

Box trucks driven by Red Cross disaster workers roamed the muddy streets, passing out bleach, trash bags and other cleanup supplies. In addition, a Red Cross emergency response vehicle was filled with hot meals for community members as they cleaned up.

For Angela Onkst, cleaning up meant removing mud from the first floor of her home and working on getting her gas and electricity turned back on.

“It has been pretty hard,” Onkst said. “It was way more than we expected. We have been out of our home for more than a week now.”

To make matters even more frightening, only six inches separated the second floor of her home from floodwaters. The rain brought nearly 10 feet of water into her yard. Water reached the roof of her garage. The Red Cross was able to provide her and her children with important clean-up supplies to begin to dig out and recover.

“It’s our first time having a flood, so we didn’t really know what to expect," she said. “Everyone has been so helpful and nice.”

Onkst's children smile as they prepare to clean up
using supplies distributed by Red Cross disaster workers.

To date, nearly 400 disaster-workers from across the region and country are on the ground to provide hope, comfort and care to residents impacted by flooding. The Red Cross has distributed nearly 20,000 meals and snacks and more than 14,400 clean-up kits and emergency supplies to people in need.

From the Kitchen to the Community: How the Red Cross Delivers Hot Meals

Written by: Cuthbert Langley, South Carolina Region
Pictures by: Kristen Perdue, Virginia Region

Roger Hudson stared intently at a dry-erase board in a small room just off the gym at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church. Hudson was planning where American Red Cross emergency response vehicles (ERVs) would deliver hot meals to people cleaning up after February’s floods.

Everyday, more than a dozen ERVs descend upon the church to be loaded up with hot meals, cooked by volunteers with the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief. Hudson knows all too well the importance of partnerships, like this one.

“The Baptists are national partners with us,” Hudson said. “We can’t do it without them. We order the food, they cook the food, and we deliver the food.”

At its height, the kitchen set up at the Shepherdsville church cooked 4,000 meals a day. That’s 2,000 meals for lunch and 2,000 meals for dinner. 

After leaving the church, disaster workers drive the ERVs to hard-hit neighborhoods in both Kentucky and Southern Indiana. To keep himself organized, Hudson keeps a list of counties on a white board, along with the number of meals that will be delivered daily in that area. 

“What you do on the first day and second day, you do what we call search and feed,’ he said. “Once you figure it out you establish routes.”

Hudson has been with the Red Cross since 1978. He began his time as a volunteer and then became a staff member. He’s since retired and now volunteers to help.

He’s deployed more than 50 times, most recently to Texas. That’s where he spent six weeks, making sure residents of Beaumont received hot meals as they recovered from Hurricane Harvey. 

The operation, he said, was intense. 

“The kitchen I was doing there, I had 52 ERVs and we did 400,000 meals in three weeks,” Hudson said.

At the end of the day, Hudson said the people he’s helping out are the fuel that keeps him going during exhausting deployments with the Red Cross.

“In this role, it’s knowing somebody is getting a hot meal that they may not have gotten,” he said with a smile.

So far, the Red Cross has distributed more than 14,000 meals and snacks to people impacted by the floods. The Red Cross could not do this without the support of the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief kitchen and other partners.

Red Cross Weds Hope and Future

Written by: Cuthbert Langley, South Carolina Region

Photos by: Kristen Perdue, Virginia Region

From the outside, an embrace is always seen, but the true emotion can be difficult to feel. Outside the American Red Cross shelter at the First Christian Church in Clark County, Indiana, one could not only see the embrace, they could see an authentic sense of overwhelming gratitude.

Mio and Aeris came to the Red Cross shelter while hope was running on empty. They were unable to stay in their home.  Aeris was pregnant. The floodwaters quickly overwhelmed their hope and their sense of security. They were able to make it to the Red Cross shelter where they were able to have some of that hope and security restored.

“Everyone’s been so nice and friendly,” Aeris said while holding hands with her partner, Mio.

The couple had been dating for some time, fell in love and knew they wanted to make their commitment to each other official. They had been talking about their wedding for a while. They were ready to be a family.

Then, life provided the couple a collection of favorable circumstances: they were at a church and their former teacher had agreed to pay the fee for their marriage license. The couple said, ‘why not?’ and started the process.

It didn’t matter they were in a shelter. It didn’t matter they didn’t know anyone. To Aeris, the only thing that did was her love for Mio.

“We knew this was a church, so we talked to the pastor Saturday, and she said she could schedule it for [the next day],” said Aeris.

 

Red Cross volunteers heard about the news and jumped into action.  One bought a dress for the bride. Others bought wedding decorations and put money together for a wedding gift card. A church parishioner baked a cake and brewed a batch of punch.

Then, on Sunday, under a cross of a different meaning, Aeris and Mio were married, in front of a group of their newest friends: Red Cross volunteers and church members.

“I couldn’t stop smiling, said Mio with a remaining smile.  “I was nervous because everyone was watching me, but I was real happy.”

Afterwards, there was a reception. The wedding decorations hung on the walls, next to the Red Cross shelter signs. It didn’t matter. The couple had their new friends and a newfound sense of official commitment.

But, the wedding was only the first way Red Cross volunteers helped the couple on their new journey.

Sitting on brick steps under the winter warmth of the Indiana sun, a volunteer booked bus tickets for the couple. They were able to use additional funds from the Red Cross to help them start a new life together.

The Salvation Army pulled up to take the couple to the bus station. Then came the embrace.

 

Even if one didn’t know this couple or know their story, they could feel the sincerity. They could witness the truest, realest meaning of thankfulness.

The couple had not only been shelter residents. To the volunteers, the couple became their family. To the newly minted Perez-Gambles, the volunteers became the same.

“I was surprised, to be honest, I didn’t know all of this was going to be happening,” Mio said just before the couple said their new last name, together for the first time.

“Perez-Gamble,” they said in gleeful unison.

The couple is now on their way to a new beginning, while the Red Cross continues to provide hope, comfort and care to those impacted by the floods in Kentucky and Southern Indiana.

Family Finds Refuge in Red Cross Shelter

Tucked away inside the American Red Cross shelter set up at the UAW Local 862 building in Louisville is Antwon Goff.

He sits calmly on his makeshift bed with his youngest boy tucked under his arm. Running around the shelter are Goff’s other children: two sets of twins under the age of six-years-old.  Goff, his wife, and children have been in the shelter in for nearly a week.

The family had been at church and a surprise birthday party. It was cloudy but dry when they left. When they returned, water was everywhere.

 “I couldn’t get into the apartment so I looked through the window and there was just standing water,” Goff said. “We didn’t grab any coats because it’s so warm outside. Just to see coats floating along with dirt and trash, it was just devastating.”

The Goff family lost everything. The water was halfway up the walls in the home. They had no choice but to walk through the pouring rain to meet a family member for a place to stay that night. The water was too high for cars to pass.

“After we told our church what was going on, they made a call to the Red Cross, and we’ve been here ever since trying to get everything together,” the father said.

For several days, the Goff family has had dry, safe place to say.  The father of five said he’s thankful for all of the partners, including UAW Local 862, who came together to help him.

Thanks to those partnerships, the family now has clothes, toys, diapers and other items to replace some of what they lost.

“Honestly, everything here has been awesome,” Goff said. “It’s great to be able to call a place in a time of need and everybody comes together very quickly.”

The Red Cross continues its mission of helping people in Kentucky and Southern Indiana for as long as the help is needed. So far, the Red Cross has helped provide more than 200 overnight shelter stays. To find the nearest shelter, go to redcross.org/shelter.

February 2018 Floods: A Disaster Worker’s Point of View

By: Kristen Perdue, Disaster Program Specialist, Virginia Region 

During an American Red Cross disaster relief operation, workforce members respond from all over the United States. In Kentucky and Southern Indiana, there are more than 300 disaster workers. Our mission is to alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies. While riding in one of our emergency response vehicles, the people we met in Oldham County of Kentucky were a testament to the work we have already done and will continue to provide for the community.

In Oldham County, we were met with clients who have just begun their recovery: cleaning out their homes and what they can save. We also came across community members who still can’t get into their homes and may not be able to do so until early next week. Yet, everyone came to our window for a hot meal with a resilient smile and comments of appreciation and welcome. One client said, “We were so excited to hear you coming everyone ran out to you like you were an ice cream truck.”

So far, the Red Cross has been able to distribute more than 7,000 meals and snacks since our operation began. We’ve also been able to supply more than 5,500 clean-up kits and emergency supplies. While a hot meal may not seem like much, it provides a comfort to those who may need it.

The Red Cross will continue to help the Kentucky and Southern Indiana communities for as long as we’re needed. We are honored to serve you.