It meant something to that one...

You know that old story about the kid who tries to save all the starfish who washed up on the beach? The naysayer says you can never make a difference to all of them but the kid says, as he tosses one in the water- I made a difference to that one.

This is day two of being stuck in a FEMA application center. We have a table nearby and if we are lucky we get to offer cleaning supplies and pamphlets. But day 14 after hurricane irene and most people are back to work on a tuesday. We might see 2 people every hour.

I was feeling a little bored and annoyed that they are wasting able bodies in this fashion. Theres so much need all around me and we seem to be barely skimming the surface waiting for people to come to us.

But i just talked with a 70 year old man who began crying when I asked him to tell me about the damage. And the next woman was robbed by the people who came to clean out her damaged house. There still isnt much I can do but listen, look at pictures and offer suggestions of who to call for supplies other than those we hand them on their way out. The emotion is running really high in this room. Im not really sure i made a difference to anyone yet, but im trying.

stories from cranford new jersey

I spoke with a woman today who was left by her husband, with two handicapped children and a teenager to take care of. She told me she just begun to feel stronger and more resilient. And then her basement and first floor flooded. She works night shifts as a nurse and now she is trying to figure out where to begin with fema and clean up.

Another woman broke down crying when she tried to thank us for the food our trucks are providing each day. Its the first day in 2 weeks where she and her husband dont have something with the house they have to be doing. We found her sitting eating yogurt in what she called "my new kitchen" on the front lawn.

Then a man invited us into his home- he and his family moved back in about a week ago. They had a fishtank for a basement and six inches of water into their first floor. Their basement walls and ceiling are now covered with black mold. Meanwhile his wife has terminal lung cancer which has just spread to the bone marrow. She shouldnt be in this house.

The mood definitely feels different today. People are in the waiting stages. And the extent of their losses sets in. They wait for their answers from insurance, from FEMA. They wait for new water heaters and new contractors. They wait for the city dump trucks amd tractors to take their piles of belongings from the curb. They wait for the weather report to tell them its the end of hurricane season.

Disaster Relief Operation 765-12

My first day in the field was postponed. Apparently someone recommended me as a computer genius to the the new manager based on my ability to format excel pages for printing. Thus I served as assistant to the head boss for a couple of days in the office. It would have been okay but there wasn't enough work to be done! I was only busy about 15 minutes every hour. The inside operation is an interesting sight to behold however. Chaotic. And yet somehow functional.

Yesterday I was granted the opportunity to leave the office work behind and get out in the streets of new jersey to talk to people. I was sent with a team of 4 others to a town called Cranford. The damage there is incredible. Butreally hard to comprehend because the 7 feet of water that swept the neighborhood receded within 18 hours. Now, 11 days later, there are rubbish piles that could fill a living room sitting in each yard. All of the stuff that was touched by the flood water, which was a combination of river water, sewage from all the lines that broke and oil from backyard heating tanks, is waiting on the curb to be picked up by the city tractors slowly making their way through town. Meanwhile it starting to mold and the rain keeps falling. There are no visible river banks.

Our assignment is to go door to door to see if people need anything: a safe place to sleep (some houses are condemned) clothes to wear and food to eat. We are helping them find community resources to clean up and open up cases with fema.

Ill write you some neighborhood stories tomorrow.

The first deployment

I really never thought i would say these words: im being deployed. But through a series of curious events thats exactly what happened. I am on my first deployment with American Red Cross disaster services. After a long day of traveling i landed in philly at midnight last night and was picked up at the airport by my 3 dear friends melissa, victoria and shirley. Wow. What troopers! I spent a short night in the hotel, then headed out to pick up my rental car. Note for next time- find out who is supposed to give you your confirmation number ahead of time. A short 1.5 hour drive later i was at red cross headquarters in tinton falls, new jersey. There wasnt a lot for me to do today except watch everyone else be busy and the occasional help somebodys grandma make an excel spread sheet. After all the tedious and funny steps of being processed in to HQ, i watched 3 other new arrivals to my section (client casework) go through the same process. About 6 hours after i arrived they told our new little group to pack up and head out to princeton. so here i am, in a killer regency hyatt hotel complete with indian wedding in the lobby and ballroom. (ill enjoy it while i can- next stop will most likely be my own cot in a gymnasium shelter..) Tomorrow we report to our new supervisor at 8 am. Im excited! But im also really curious. So far i have seen zero damage from the hurricane. In fact im thouroughly impressed by princeton, which is not something i thought i would say about a town in new jersey :0) wonder what we will see and do tomorrow?