|
Red Cross “Linebackers” Hit the Field Running
Written by
Anne Hansen
, Special to Redcross.org
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 — GULFPORT, Miss. - Diane Dube’s life since Hurricane Katrina is similar to thousands of Mississippi residents with one big exception.
“I couldn’t understand anybody because my hearing aids were gone,” said Diane.
Having lost both of her hearing aids during the storm, Diane was unable to talk about her grief and her needs to her husband Donald Dube Jr., daughter Tammy Breazeale or the Red Cross volunteers at the shelter in which she was staying.
The Dube Family, (front from left) Tammy Breazeale, Donald Dube Jr., Diane Dube, join the Red Cross volunteers - a.k.a. "the linebackers" - (back from left) Chuck Pahl, Curtis Ables and Dexter Croom, for a quick photo near the kitchen in the Red Cross shelter at the Good Deeds Community Center in Gulfport, Miss.
(Photo Source: Anne Hausen/American Red Cross)
|
When the Dube Family first arrived at the Red Cross shelter at Good Deeds Community Center in Gulfport, Miss., Diane was despondent and spent much of her time in bed. Red Cross volunteers Curtis Ables, Chuck Pahl and Dexter Croom, who’s commanding physical appearances earned them the nickname “the linebackers,” learned about the lost hearing aids. With the shelter health services team swamped, this crew volunteered to step in to assist the busy nurses and help Diane hear again.
Pahl reached out to Sister Mary Ann at St. John’s Catholic Church in Gulfport, who put him in touch with a parishioner who is an audiologist. The specialist fitted Diane for new hearing aids, which should arrive soon. In the meantime, Sister Mary Ann insisted on contributing $110 toward a portable hearing device called a “pocket pal” that would allow Diane to talk with her family again until her new hearing aids arrive. A shelter volunteer, likewise, insisted on making a gift of the balance of the device cost, $65, out of his own pocket.
What a difference this made for Diane. She was overjoyed to tell everyone how thankful she is for the Red Cross volunteers at the Good Deeds shelter, and indicated that she was even happy to hear to her husband snore again.
“If it weren’t for them, I would have given up,” said Diane about the volunteers who helped her.
But, helping Diane overcome this loss was only part of what made the volunteers at this Red Cross shelter so revered in southern Gulfport. These volunteers went the extra mile. The three “linebackers” – who met at the Red Cross disaster operations headquarters in Montgomery, Ala., bonded quickly and were sent to Gulfport together as a team – took on a challenging role when they arrived in Mississippi, assisting the mentally and physically disabled residents in a shelter that was set up in what is considered a rough neighborhood. Croom’s background as a Washington D.C. police officer and part-time bouncer came in handy, helping the team quickly gain the respect of shelter residents and fellow volunteers.
Shane Adam Yellin, a volunteer from the Central Maryland Chapter of the Red Cross, also made the trip to Gulfport to help. Yellin tutored Diane’s daughter Tammy, who is attending night school to earn her G.E.D. Other volunteers help clients overwhelmed by the dizzying amount of paperwork necessary to get their lives in order, such as applying for federal assistance, obtaining a new driver’s license and getting a replacement social security card. Croom, as self-appointed head of the entertainment committee, kept spirits up by arranging for a live band, a barbeque cookout and karaoke for residents.
When discussing his experiences at the shelter, Croom said that the shelter residents and staff “interact like a family.”
Ables, who was described by Yellins as “a cross between a teddy bear and a grizzly bear,” was quick to jump in to clarify that “it isn’t like a family, it is a family.”
Pahl couldn’t agree more.
“You don’t live this close without developing some bonds,” he said. “Red Cross volunteers have bridged the gap and become a part of this community. We’ve grown very fond of the clients and will miss them.”
Those bonds were evident throughout the shelter and were even echoed in an entry in a journal Diane began recently, which she shared. It read: “They are all very good people to know and they help when anyone needs them. So God bless them all, we will never forget them.”
On October 11th, the “linebacker” team – who extended their stay in Gulfport to avoid saying goodbye to the shelter residents – finally did return to their own hometowns.
Croom headed back to Washington D.C. to see his young son and return to work. Pahl, a retired mechanical contractor from Jackson, Mich., and Ables, a retired contractor from Louisville, Ky., went home as well but both hope to return to the Gulf area for a second volunteer assignment after taking some time to rest and reconnect with their families.
The Red Cross volunteers even put together a master e-mail list, so they can keep in touch with one another and have already made plans for a one-year reunion. Nonetheless, leaving the shelter was not easy, and the men appeared to be slowed down by a sense of loss over leaving their new family behind.
“It’s a tough day,” said Croom.
Anne Hansen is a Disaster Public Affairs volunteer from the St. Paul Area Chapter. She worked for the Central Iowa Chapter after graduating from Drake University’s journalism program and is currently a law student at William Mitchell College of Law.
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.
Related Links:
Related Content:
|
