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.

Busy Executive Makes Time to Volunteer

Written by Stephanie Kriner, Staff Writer, RedCross.org

Dr. Howard Smith takes time off work to volunteer at disasters across the country.

February 6, 2002 — The mental health professional's decision to give up his South Dakota practice was difficult. Fortunately, he eventually found an even more rewarding way to guide those struggling through mental turmoil, by volunteering for the American Red Cross.

Dr. Smith left his practice and quit his job in academia in South Dakota in 1994 to take a job as a department head and professor at the University of Louisianna in Monroe, La. Fortunately, he discovered the Red Cross and an outlet to practice his counseling skills.

Dr. Smith had first become involved with the Red Cross when a friend asked him to volunteer to help out victims of floods in St Louis in 1993. Before joining the other disaster responders, Dr. Smith quickly took the required courses in disaster mental health. For the next two weeks, he became the mental health coordinator for the disaster in the St. Louis area. After moving to Monroe, he became a member of the board for the Louisiana-Monroe Chapter, and led an effort to grow the states mental health volunteer pool from just two to more than 55.

Now an executive at the American Counseling Association in Alexandria, Va., Dr. Smith continues to volunteer, traveling the country to bring mental health support to disaster victims. The call to help was such an important part of his life, Dr. Smith negotiated with his new employers in 1999 for annual leave to respond to at least one disaster, and to teach disaster mental health courses.

Dr. Smith often serves in leadership roles, coordinating and watching over other mental health volunteers to ensure that they can handle the emotional demands of the assignments without breaking down themselves. "Our first line of defense is to take care of our own. Without that, we can't provide quality service," he said. Dr. Smith has learned to carefully monitor his coworkers' emotional states, for signs that they may need a break or even just a few encouraging words.

Dr. Smith, who also provided mental health support to those affected by the Sept. 11 events, says every moment of service has been worth it. "The pay a Red Cross mental health worker gets is in the gratitude people show, and most are so gracious. That is worth more than any money," said Dr. Howard Smith, a 62-year-old volunteer and licensed counselor.

He recalls one woman in particular whom he met in the late 1990s after a tornado tore through Florida. Her son had accidentally left the woman, who only spoke Spanish, at a Red Cross service center. Dr. Smith offered to drive her home. Using hand signals, she guided him to her tornado-battered house.

"The next day I was in an ERV (Emergency Response Vehicle) and she came running out to show me her house," Dr. Smith said. "As she gave me the tour, [I could not understand what] she was rattling off in Spanish. But what I did understand was 'gracias.' Stories like that [make volunteering rewarding], and every disaster has them."

When he become a Red Cross volunteer, Dr. Smith was amazed by the enormous loss wrought by a disaster, no matter how large or small. "When I first got into disaster response with the Red Cross, I was struck by the magnification of pain. Instead of one family or person going through a hard time, there were many being affected by a common source of pain," Dr. Smith said.

But even after nearly 10 years with the Red Cross, Dr. Smith was still floored by the overwhelming effects of the Sept. 11 attacks. He particularly remembers a man who decided not to accept an urn filled with the ashes from Ground Zero because he did not want the ashes of the terrorists in his house.

"[Responding to the terrorist attacks] was hard for a number of reasons. There was the sheer magnitude of loss. There were a tremendous number of lives lost and [tremendous amount of] grieving. There were people who lost employment. The World Trade Center was like a village. Then there was the ripple effect. A lot of people were put out of business," said Dr. Smith, who volunteered a total of five weeks, as a mental health counselor and coordinator in New York and Virginia.

However, the now seasoned disaster mental health worker has faith that the events of Sept. 11 will eventually stop haunting people. "Most of the stuff will get worked out," he said. "But [people] need encouragement along the way."

Although a love for counseling initially triggered Dr. Smith to become an active volunteer, he has now grown to admire the entire Red Cross disaster response. In fact, he one day hopes to direct disaster relief operations, and has even taken 30 courses in nearly every aspect of disaster response.

"It's rewarding to see how in a matter of days or even hours, people from all over the country can come together to create a disaster relief operation," he said. "It's almost a work of art to see it all come together like that."

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