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Former Red Cross Volunteer Finds Shelter with Old Friends
Kate Fowlie, Special to Redcross.org
Tuesday, September 06, 2005 — BILOXI, Miss. – Unable to flee Hurricane Katrina because of a broken hip, 68-year-old Biloxi resident Shirley Collars turned to old friends for help.
The former American Red Cross volunteer evacuated to a Red Cross shelter at Biloxi High School, where she has spent five days with about 1,200 displaced residents. Despite not knowing if she has a home to return to and or if her friends are safe, Collars still considers herself lucky -- she survived.
Her city was one of the hardest hit areas when the catastrophic hurricane tore a swath of destruction across the gulf. Collars was unable to leave because she is still recovering from a broken hip she suffered in a fall a month ago so she made the best of a terrible situation. She credits being a former Red Cross volunteer with her survival attitude and resilience.
Former American Red Cross volunteer Shirley Collars, 68, speaks with a volunteer at the American Red Cross shelter at Biloxi High School in Biloxi, Miss., Sept. 2, 2005.
(Photo Credit: Louise Welch/American Red Cross)
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“Because of my Red Cross training, I knew how to be prepared and what to bring to the shelter. I have all of my medications, my toothbrush and toothpaste – everything. I could stay here a week,” she added with a laugh, smoothing down hair and pointing to her mattress and neatly stacked bundles in her corner of the school hallway.
Surrounded by chaos and destruction outside, she sat serenely in her wheelchair with a newspaper in her lap in the safety of the shelter. She is among the more than thousands of hurricane evacuees staying in Red Cross shelters across nine states.
The volunteers in her shelter have been kind to her, she said. One young volunteer brought her a cup of ice to stave off the sweltering heat.
“It was a blessing,” she said.
Though it’s been several years since she was a Red Cross volunteer with the Southeast Mississippi Chapter, she said she’s still willing to help.
“My cards are all expired, but let me know if I can help, maybe write something,” said Collars, who works for the U.S. Department of Commerce Census Bureau as a field representative data collector.
The phones in her area still weren’t working and she has been unable to reach any friends or family yet. She hasn’t been able to check on her home either. Even so, she maintains her Red Cross spirit.
“I’m trying really hard not to think about my friends. I don’t know where they are, but here I am,” she said. “You have to keep chin up and take one moment at a time.”
Kate Fowlie is a public affairs volunteer from the San Joaquin County Chapter of the American Red Cross in Stockton, Calif.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Midwest ice storms, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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