The American Red Cross responds to a disaster every eight minutes, around the clock, 365 days a year. But our humanitarian work wouldn't be possible without our tireless volunteers, who constitute 97 percent of our total work force. Nearly 50,000 responded to the September 11 tragedy. Thousands still remain on the scene, and will remain there as long as there is a need.

Red Cross "everyday heroes" come from all walks of life and from all age groups. Everyone has something special to offer and everyone has an inspiring story to tell. There are many faces of service, and these are their stories.

Red Cross Volunteer Knocks Down Language Barriers

Written by Mason Anderson, Staff Writer, RedCross.org

Mental health counselor Claudette Antuna has helped victims of both the Pentagon and World Trade Center attacks.

January 23, 2002 — One of the most predominant traits mental health counselors encountered after Sept. 11 was confusion. Many people were left disoriented, wondering why the attack had happened and where they could find help. The tragedy was even more confusing, however, for the many non-English speaking families who lost loved ones in the attacks. Claudette Antuna, an American Red Cross volunteer from Seattle, Wash., arriving at the Pentagon less than one week after the attack, knew she could help.

"In a crisis situation, people communicate in their native tongue," said Antuna, a Spanish translator and mental health counselor. "Even though a lot of the people I helped had been in the United States for many years and spoke English daily, they were so upset by the events of Sept. 11 that they could communicate their feelings best in their native language."

Upon arriving in Arlington, Va., Antuna first worked in the Red Cross Family Assistance Center (FAC) with a family already struggling with emotional issues before the attack. Some family members were feuding, making communication difficulties even more frustrating.

"Unresolved issues prior to the crash still after the crash," said Antuna. "Some relatives were not speaking; there was an extended family, divorce, as well as relatives trying to deal with their loss individually. The victims' brother was a pilot with American Airlines, and was struggling. Each family member was able to look at what they were going through and I would direct them to what kind of help they may want to look at for themselves."

Antuna arrived at the Pentagon within days of the attacks.

In another case, Antuna spotted a woman standing with her elderly mother and child in a distant corner of the FAC. The mental health volunteer walked over to see how she could help them and soon learned the Guatemalan woman had lost her husband after Flight 77 crashed, in the exact section of the Pentagon where he worked.

"The plane had gone straight into his office," said Antuna. "His wife knew it was going to be a long time before they could identify with him, if that was ever going to happen. The Red Cross took care of her necessary paperwork and made it possible for the woman's brother and niece from Guatemala to join her."

Antuna soon realized that many people in need of translation help would not be able to go to the FAC because they were scattered across the nation and, in some cases, around the world. To assist these victims, Antuna quickly grabbed her cell phone and worked with a Spanish network radio station to field global questions.

"The same kinds of questions and comments were coming in that were reflected in this country. People were agitated and there was lots of fear. People from places like Costa Rica, Argentina and Chile wanted to know what to tell their children about what happened and how," recalled Antuna. "One father was upset because his daughter's teacher encouraged them to draw what they were feeling. I told him that in this country we do this in order to give kids an expression, an outlet to talk or open up to what they are feeling, and it was not unusual. I really got a taste that the rest of the world was just as impacted as we were."

Antuna worked in a Respite Center in New York, helping the relief workers at Ground Zero.

Less than two months later, Antuna took her second assignment for the Sept. 11 attacks and left for New York City, where she helped supervise the mental health counselors arriving from across the nation.

"There was such a huge need for mental health counselors in New York that a lot of them had to be trained in disaster work quickly and were sent to Ground Zero as their first assignment. I was there to make sure they were all right. Many people don't understand that disaster-related mental health counseling can be very different from other kinds of counseling. Following a disaster, we often work with people who are in shock after experiencing some form of trauma. The counselors were not just helping people who witnessed the attacks, but they were also helping people such as the firefighters, who were there and who had lost so many friends and seen so much death. Often this was very hard for even the counselors to hear," recalled Antuna.

A mental health counselor for the Red Cross since 1987, Antuna not only has responded to a wide variety of disasters, but she also helped organize the mental health program at her local Red Cross chapter.

"Before Claudia came, we had no mental health program," said Ann Byrnes, Director of Volunteer and Community Services at the Seattle-King County Chapter. "Red Cross volunteers were responding with other emergency personnel to some very traumatic situations. We knew the firemen had a mental health resource for its emergency personnel, but we didn't have anything."

Antuna and a group of counselors from the area formed a spontaneous group to help Red Cross workers cope with their emotions. Recognizing the need for continual mental health service, Antuna eventually turned her small group into a permanent fixture at her chapter and has helped the program grow. Since Sept. 11, the Seattle-King County Chapter has trained 60 new mental health counselors, all of whom are responding in New York.

"Working with the Red Cross on disaster relief operations has been one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had," said Antuna. "Often it's difficult and many times it's exhausting, but nothing can beat the feeling of knowing you've helped someone."

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