With FEMA in Wisconsin following those devastating
floods in and around Milwaukee, the American Red Cross of Wisconsin is issuing what it calls an
urgent call for disaster action team volunteers to help families both locally and nationwide.
Kathryn Helverson with the Red Cross of Wisconsin joins us with more and thanks very much for
being here. Absolutely happy to be here. Thanks for having us. So I know that the Red Cross responded
to Milwaukee. What kinds of work did people with the Red Cross do there? Yeah, absolutely. We,
you know, we've had volunteers responding around the clock to Milwaukee. Originally we had opened
two shelters and then consolidated to Milwaukee Marshall High School down to one centralized
location that was more accessible to the clients that we were serving there. And we were offering
everything from a place to stay and eat to charge your phone. People can stay as long or as little
as they need it. And then on top of that, we were always offering our wraparound services. So
mental health support, disaster support, casework recovery, resources outside of us. It takes a
huge effort and partnership in the community to be able to help those that needed us most.
How many people availed themselves of your services? Unbelievable. We had 100 local Wisconsin
Red Crossers respond. So we started as a level three disaster, which is basically
still managed by the Wisconsin region. And then we upped it to a level four disaster response
operation. So now we're starting to see that national leadership support because the need is
so great. So it's great that now we have that national leadership supporting us.
So that sounds as though the Red Cross maintains a presence in Milwaukee.
Absolutely. Like I said, we've got seven levels for disaster. And when you hit that
four level four disaster, we've got folks from national that are really stepping in now to
support us and offer guidance and leadership to our regional team. Of course, we don't want anyone
to get burnt out at the regional local level. So I believe in total, we have over 150
volunteers helping with Milwaukee still. And now you're putting out an urgent call for
disaster volunteers. Why are you doing that? Yeah, you know, we respond to 65,000
disasters every single year. And in the Red Crossers are saying, and it's
we're in continuous disaster response. With disasters happening more frequently,
we're responding to a disaster, new disasters within 15 days. So just to mention too,
while we had this flooding happening in Milwaukee, we also had to open a third shelter unrelated
to the floods because of an apartment complex fire that displaced more than 40 people. So this
is nothing new to the Red Cross. It's just about building that capacity now. We need more boots
on the ground helping us be there for clients when it's needed most. What would volunteers expect
to be doing if they sign down? Yeah, so we have a really great process. When you sign up through
redcross.org slash volunteer, we have a volunteer services team that is fielding all these new
applications. And then they go through the process with you of determining where you think your
talents will be utilized best. So I will say first and foremost, our biggest need position
is disaster action team. So you're the first people helping families after a home fire or flood.
Aside from that, we have so many other positions, sheltering positions, case work,
mental health care. It's really an endless opportunities available to those who are looking
to make a difference. And it doesn't require any previous training. We offer all the training
available through our volunteer connection portal. And so if you're a volunteer for the Red Cross
and the phone rings, you've got to go right then. Not necessarily. So you can say no. So we have
how it works is we work closely with our fire departments and they call us to notify us of a
home fire. So in terms of the disaster action team position, this is and you can decline if you
aren't able to go. But we usually always have a volunteer willing to go. And this could happen
in the middle of the night. So I like to say too, we don't allow anyone to go to a home fire response
alone. We work in teams of two. And then as far as deployments, those are a little bit
more of a commitment for national deployments. It is two weeks. But for something local like this,
we did open up flexibility for volunteers to insert the days that they could help out.
All right. Well, Katherine Halverson, we leave it there. But thank you and thank you for your work.
Absolutely. Thank you so much for giving us this platform to talk about our response.
Thank you so much.
You were great. I see why they gave you to us. Thank you.
There's so much to cover in such a short time. Thank you. You did a really nice job. Thank you.
Thank you. Have a great rest of your weekend.