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Necessity, the Mother of Inventive Solutions
Written by
Allen Crabtree
, Special to Redcross.org
Monday, October 17, 2005 — SLIDELL, La. – Processing thousands of requests for American Red Cross financial assistance quickly and efficiently in an area of Louisiana deeply affected by one of the most destructive hurricanes in U.S. history was a necessity. Setting up a drive-thru service center to supplement other methods of registering survivors and disbursing funds was an inventive solution.
At the American Red Cross Drive-Thru Service Center in Slidell, La., six traffic lanes were set up enabling Red Cross volunteers to process emergency financial assistance for multiple families simultaneously without them ever having to leave the comfort of their vehicles, Sept. 28, 2005. The innovative system allowed the Red Cross team to process more than 170 financial assistance applications an hour.
(Photo Credit: Thomas Jacobson/American Red Cross)
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Seeking to broaden its capacity to provide for the urgent needs of families significantly affected by Hurricane Katrina in the hard-time town of Slidell, La., the Red Cross got innovative and opened its first drive-thru financial assistance service center on Sept. 28, 2005. The drive-thru service delivery method was developed to supplement the overwhelmed hotline for evacuees that the Red Cross launched on Sept. 11, 2005.
“The Slidell drive-thru service delivery site is a new outreach program that the American Red Cross has implemented to make it easier for people to receive relief assistance,” said Red Cross volunteer Carlos Garcia-Velez. “This is the first time this innovative approach has been used to help answer the overwhelming demand for emergency financial assistance.”
Garcia-Velez successfully led the planning and implementation of the Slidell drive-thru, working in partnership with Slidell City officials, labor groups and other local organizations. A site was chosen at the local retail outlet mall on the south end of Slidell that offered ample room and a good traffic flow.
American Red Cross staff and volunteers interview hurricane survivors to process their paperwork curbside at the Red Cross drive-thru financial assistance service center
in Slidell, La., Sept. 28, 2005.
(Photo Credit: Thomas Jacobson/American Red Cross)
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On opening day the Red Cross assigned 70 client services volunteers to process registration forms. The Red Cross also provided water, ice, porta-potties and tents for shade during the daylong launch. The United Auto Workers (UAW) International Unit sent 12 members to help set up tents and distribute ice and water to workers and clients. Each day since then a similar work force has assembled at the site.
The City of Slidell provided 12 police officers for traffic control and security. Additional traffic control was provided by Louisiana State Police, Parish Sheriff units and a team of police from the City of Chicago, who were in the area to provide disaster relief. Members of the Missouri 35th Special Troop Battalion National Guard were also on hand to help with security.
Word of the Slidell drive-thru site spread quickly, and individuals and families started lining up in their cars early in the morning on Wednesday, the 28th. By the time Red Cross volunteers started processing forms at 9 a.m., State Police estimated that the lines of cars stretched for nearly 6 miles along roads leading to the mall.
Red Cross volunteers interviewed the people in each car as they drove up, checked photo identification and validation that their pre-disaster address was located in the areas affected by the hurricane. Cars were then directed to one of six lanes set up in the mall parking lot where financial assistance was offered depending on family size and need. Initially client assistance cards were issued, but later the operation switched to issuing checks to evacuees.
An American Red Cross volunteer works to register hurricane survivor Stacey St Pe’ at the Red Cross drive-thru service center in Slidell, La.,
Sept. 28, 2005. (Photo Credit: Thomas Jacobson/American Red Cross)
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Angela Bicklan and her friend Sandra Johnson were second in and through the line on opening day to receive financial assistance.
“My boss called me about 10:30 last night and told me about the drive-thru,” said Angela Bicklan. “I picked up my friend Sandy here and we drove right over. I live in Covington and she lives in Mandeville. We got here at 12:45 a.m. so we could be right at the head of the line.”
Bicklan and her husband have four children and their home had extensive damage from downed trees during the hurricane. Her friend, Johnson, listed her two children along with her 71 year-old mother and 90-year-old aunt residing in her household.
“The roof of our house was badly damaged, and we have black mold all through the house from water coming in,” Johnson said. “This money is going to come in useful to help get us back on our feet”
Red Cross Client Services supervisor Troy Brown was pleased at how well his crew had performed on opening day.
“Once a car reached the site the entire process from vetting to completing the application form took an average of three to five minutes,” he said. “We processed cars at a rate of more than 170 an hour.”
For two weeks, the drive-thru service site stayed open every day from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., continuing to process requests for emergency financial assistance for as long as necessary. In the first nine days of operation an average of 1,300 cars a day have been processed at the Slidell drive-thru site.
Both Red Cross and City of Slidell officials have been pleased with the operation.
“We are dealing with a vast number of people,” said Slidell Mayor Ben Morris. “It was the same when they opened up the food stamp line, but this whole operation is going smoothly.”
There were a few bugs to be worked out, such as minimizing traffic congestion so that the dump trucks hauling storm debris to a nearby disposal site would not be delayed and addressing the long lines. These, however, were resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.
“The cooperation from Mayor Morris and Slidell City officials, local law enforcement, State Police, National Guard and labor unions have all contributed to make this effort a success,” said Garcia-Velez said. “We are very appreciative.”
The Red Cross drive-through center closed on Wednesday, October 12. Through the unique operation center, the Red Cross was able to distribute more than $19 million, assisting more than 55,000 survivors in the Slidell area.
Allen Crabtree is a volunteer from the Southern Maine Chapter of the American Red Cross and lives in Sebago, Maine where he is a writer, antiquarian book dealer, blueberry farmer, town Selectman, volunteer fire fighter and ambulance driver.
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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