After a string of tornados struck Naples and Fort Myers on January 16, damaging or destroying dozens of homes, the American Red Cross moved quickly to activate volunteers, assemble clean-up kits and open a shelter. Before nightfall, a shelter was ready to house people whose homes were destroyed or unlivable and volunteers were serving meals and pulling together clean-up supplies like tarps, work gloves and trash bags.

“The volunteers were eager to get out there and be involved,” said John Vicenti, Regional Mass Care and Logistics Manager for the South Florida Red Cross.

“We got a lot of kudos from the people we helped on how fast we got supplies out to them,” Vicenti said. “Everybody pitched in, and the team that I worked with was phenomenal. The clients that we helped, they appreciated everything. They said, ‘You guys have been providing us with hope.’”

The greatest need was in Fort Myers, where a tornado with a wind speed of 118 miles an hour tore through an RV park, ripping some homes apart. Overall in Lee County, 76 homes were destroyed and 60 sustained major damages from the tornados. Nearly 200 people were driven from their homes. It was the most powerful of half a dozen tornados that spun across parts of Southwest Florida that day.

In all, about 45 volunteers responded, most of them from the Florida Gulf Coast to Heartland Chapter, which serves Collier, Glades, Hendry, Highlands and Lee counties, as well as other volunteers from within the South Florida region. 

“Working with emergency officials, the Red Cross provided more than 2,000 meals to people who were affected, distributed more than 1,000 disaster emergency supplies and kits, and made nearly 200 disaster health services, disaster mental health and spiritual care contacts”, said Jill Palmer, Executive Director of the Florida Gulf Coast to Heartland Chapter.

“It has been inspiring to see this community come together and volunteers from all over the South Florida Region provide relief and comfort,” Palmer said. “Red Cross volunteers are true humanitarians that selflessly give day in and day out. They continue to stand up, show up and provide help to those that need it most.”

Palmer, who drove through the affected communities with Ryan Logan, Regional Disaster Officer, within hours after the tornados struck, described what they saw:

“The devastation is breathtaking. Metal wrapped around trees, windows blown out, cars crushed and walls collapsed, but we also saw the community coming together to help those in need. Everyone we saw said ‘thank you’ for the help that we are providing.”

Three days later, she shared, “This morning our emergency response vehicle was out providing breakfast followed by lunch and dinner directly in the impacted areas; another team canvassed the area identifying needs and serving the clients with totes filled with clean up supplies and tarps; the casework team began meeting with many clients with destroyed/major damaged homes and provided immediate financial assistance. An incredible team of health, mental health and spiritual care volunteers met one-on-one with impacted clients and helped connect them with lifesaving services.”

Dave Evans, a volunteer from Boynton Beach who manages the Red Cross supply warehouse, was in charge of loading clean-up supplies into trucks, getting the materials to Fort Myers, assembling clean-up kits in plastic bins and distributing them to residents. They were on the scene by the next morning and gave out 100 kits that first day, plus more in the days that followed.

Other people wanted only a tarp to cover a damaged roof or a plastic bin for belongings they had salvaged. “They wanted to keep what was left of their home and belongings dry,” he said.

While his team’s job was handling clean-up supplies, Evans said, the volunteers had something else valuable to offer: time to listen to people who had suffered losses.

“We listen to them and hear their stories. We’re another way for them to vent,” he said.

Whether it’s listening to people whose homes have been torn apart, putting them in touch with a mental health counselor, helping them replace eyeglasses or prescription medicines, or giving them a bin full of clean-up supplies, the volunteers won the gratitude of the people they helped, Evans said.

“Most of the volunteers, myself included, are just happy to be able to offer something to these folks. It might not seem like a lot, but it is.”  To become a volunteer and help people affected by disasters, big and small, visit redcross.org/SFLvolunteer.

Written by Marjie Lambert, American Red Cross Public Affairs