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Temporary Emergency Child Care Unit Helps Parents Get Back to Work without Worry
Anne Hansen, Special to Redcross.org
Wednesday, November 16, 2005 — LONG BEACH, Miss. – Childcare, a top priority for all parents, is even more important for families rebuilding their lives after a natural disaster. For parents in southern Mississippi whose daycare options were blown away by Hurricane Katrina, there is help.
The American Red Cross has partnered with the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio, part of the Southern Baptist Convention, and the AFL-CIO to provide childcare services at the West Harrison County Civic Center in Long Beach, Miss.
Southern Baptist Convention volunteer Debora McCann cares for children in the 0-1 year old section of the childcare center. The center is divided into four sections – an entrance, where children are checked in each morning and parents fill out paperwork with contact information; an area for babies and one-year-olds, an area for two and three-year-olds, and an area for four and five-year olds.
(Photo Credit: Anne Hansen/American Red Cross)
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The Temporary Emergency Child Care (TECC) unit, which opened on Oct. 10, is available to parents who need a safe place to leave their children while they are working or looking for employment, cleaning debris from their homes, filing claims with their insurance companies or working with federal, state and local agencies regarding their disaster-related needs.
Adam Vivian, assistant shelter manager from the Red Cross Central Iowa Chapter, speaks fondly of the partnership.
“It works well,” says Vivian. “It’s good to see the organizations come together for one common goal, to get people back on their feet.”
The West Harrison County Civic Center has housed the Red Cross shelter operation since early September and will continue to do so. A four-foot high wall separates the childcare center from the rest of the shelter, providing a safe and secure environment where workers look after children. Mark Buford, an AFL-CIO member and Red Cross labor liaison from the Greater Toledo Area Chapter, constructed the wall creating the enclosed area.
“Union members recognize the importance of child care for families and are ready to respond to our community when disaster strikes,” Buford said.
Nawal Picard, left, and Debora McCann, kneeling, care for children ages 0-1. McCann helps a young child blow her nose following the noontime meal. Sharon Wells, background, cares for children in the two and three-year-olds section.
(Photo Credit: Anne Hansen/American Red Cross)
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Within the walls, Child Care Team members from the Southern Baptist Convention care for the children. All team members are trained and must pass a background check, according to Sam Kelley, Disaster Relief Volunteer Coordinator of the State Convention of Baptist in Ohio.
The TECC unit is available Monday through Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., for children ages birth through five years old. Parents must register and pick up their children each day and have a contact number where they can be reached in case of emergency. The children wear an identification bracelet much like those at medical facilities, plus professional security staff is on site to ensure the safety of all children.
This childcare center is not the first time the Red Cross has partnered with the AFL-CIO or the Southern Baptist Convention. Union member Clint Cole, his wife Kassandra and several other union members have filled many other important needs since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. The AFL-CIO team constructed the floor and showers for the Red Cross staff shelter in Biloxi, Miss., boarded up the Sav-A-Center store in Bay St. Louis so the site’s parking lot could be used as a Red Cross financial assistance center, set up tents at the West Harrison financial assistance center, and went door-to-door delivering supplies on Pascagoula Beach.
Cole, a resident of Saucier, Miss., was only too glad to help.
“In light of what y’all have been doing for us down here, it was the least we could do,” said Cole.
The Southern Baptist Convention has another TECC unit as well as a food service team at the Pass Road Baptist Church in Gulfport, Miss. The Ohio TECC unit has responded to disasters such as floods, tornadoes and hurricanes and has cared for about 1,500 children over the years. Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, they set up a site at Liberty State Park in New Jersey for 73 days and cared for more than 630 children.
Southern Baptist Convention volunteers Betty Sampler and her husband, Chaplain Sam Sampler, are in charge of the TECC unit in Long Beach. The couple’s cheery mood matches the bright yellow shirts and smocks their volunteers wear and brings a smile to the children’s faces.
“They’ll never know why yellow is their favorite color,” Mrs. Sampler said, echoing the thoughts of a Sept. 11 volunteer she met in New Jersey.
Here in Mississippi, the Samplers care as much about the children’s mood as about their physical health. They keep a supply of the FEMA/Red Cross publication, “Helping Children Cope with Disaster,” to help parents understand the emotional needs and reactions of young children recovering from a traumatic event. The Red Cross shelter nurses are on hand to attend to their physical health needs as well.
Continuing the spirit of cooperation with the Red Cross, Kelley promised that the Ohio TECC unit will be there to meet the childcare needs of Hurricane Katrina victims.
“We will care for children as long as the shelter is open or until the need has been met.”
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.
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