BY ALEX ELLEFSON | Volunteers at the American Red Cross office in Hell’s Kitchen are helping to coordinate relief efforts for victims of the catastrophic flooding in Louisiana.
A call center, housed in the Red Cross building on W. 49th St., began fielding calls last week to bring aid to regions of southeastern Louisiana deluged by more than two feet of water. At least 30 volunteers work in shifts to guide resources to victims of the disaster — which the Red Cross is calling the “worst to hit the United States since Superstorm Sandy.”
Lilliam Rivera-Cruz is one of the volunteers who answered the call to help out.
“Life can change in the blink of an eye. Think about if your family was suddenly uprooted and you had no shelter, no clothing, nothing to eat,” she said. “I’m not physically present in Louisiana, but I can walk people to the next step so they can move on with their life,” she said.
The Red Cross has more than 1,700 volunteers working to support relief efforts. Staff at call centers throughout the country direct volunteers on the ground to people in need and also steer residents to shelters and resources.
“I got a call from a female in her late-60s who needed medical care and she didn’t know what to do,” said Rivera-Cruz. “We were able to get local Red Cross case workers to her right away.”
The flooding damaged more than 40,000 homes and killed at least 13 people. The Red Cross reports more than 39,000 residents have taken refuge in its shelters since the disaster struck — while the organization and its partners have handed out more than 200,000 meals.
Red Cross spokesperson Michael de Vulpillieres said many of the calls received at the Hell’s Kitchen office come from residents desperate to find shelter. He also said call center volunteers log the location of phone calls to identify the regions in greatest need.
“The call center allows Red Cross staff in Louisiana to focus on providing aid and delivering resources to those who need it,” he said.
Vulpillieres explained the call center is usually used to coordinate responses to emergencies in the greater New York area — like a six-alarm fire that consumed seven houses in Staten Island last week.
However, the organization started staffing up the call center to handle the hundreds of requests for assistance coming from the flood victims. Vulpillieres said the Hell’s Kitchen office will continue taking calls from Louisiana for at least another two weeks.
“The call center gives someone who is not available to go to Louisiana the ability to help out in their own backyard,” he said.
Rivera-Cruz, who is also employed as a Red Cross case worker when she is not volunteering in the call center, said she traveled to flood zones in Texas and Virginia this year to help people in need. However, she stayed in the city to care for her mother, who is in poor health, when flooding broke out in Louisiana.
She said the call center work is very rewarding.
“Sometimes, people just want to know someone is listening on the other side of the line and is ready to help,” she said.
To help people impacted by the Louisiana flooding, visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS, or text the word LAFLOODS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Also visit the website to join the Red Cross, learn more about volunteer opportunities, or submit a volunteer application.
