By Barbara Wood, American Red Cross volunteer
 

U.S. Army veterans Martha Narvaez and Vincent Leandry embody the American Red Cross mantra, "Sleeves Up. Hearts Open. All In."

The two served in the Army together, they joined the Red Cross together two and a half years ago, and they recently volunteered to play an important role in the disaster response in south Florida after Hurricane Ian.

Part of the Red Cross Latino Engagement Team, the two natives of Puerto Rico were among the first disaster relief workers on Pine Island when the bridge linking it to the mainland reopened after Hurricane Ian. Their assignment was to visit a mobile home park where most residents spoke only Spanish, to survey the needs that Red Cross could meet.

They handed out lists of nearby Red Cross shelters and printed disaster recovery materials in Spanish. 

Narvaez said when she and Leandry first arrived, they saw a scene of devastation, with few people outside. But once residents saw Leandry and Narvaez talking with their neighbors, obviously in Spanish, “they slowly started coming out.” 

Although the mobile homes had flooded and suffered damage in the storm, residents were living in them once again. “They had nowhere else to go,” Narvaez said. Many families, including numerous children, were crowded together in the remaining livable spaces. 

Among the needs Narvaez and Leandry identified were first aid supplies, food and a way to cook without electricity, construction materials, baby formula and cleaning supplies.

Narvaez said some residents had run out of prescription medications but were afraid to leave the island to get them refilled because they had been told they could not come back until utilities and other infrastructure were restored.

As a recognized disaster relief agency, the Red Cross had access to the island and could fill many of the residents’ needs.

Narvaez and Leandry also spent time in Red Cross shelters, interacting with evacuees. They found their deployment so rewarding that after their two-week assignment ended, they planned to go home for a few days to rest before returning for at least two more weeks.  

In “blue sky” times, they are among the few Red Cross volunteers in their rural area of Wesley Chapel, north of Tampa, so they respond to all the Disaster Action Team calls to help home fire victims over a two-county area. They also help with Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces activities, transport blood products for Red Cross Blood Services and install free smoke alarms for those who need them as part of the Red Cross Sound The Alarm campaign.

During their time in the Army, Narvaez was in logistics and Leandry was a Special Forces medic. They are not alone as military veterans who are attracted to the Red Cross for its action-oriented, highly organized culture. 

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