By: Christopher Quinn, Public Affairs Volunteer
Sara Neely-Stewart was staying with and consoling her sister near Atlanta who recently lost her husband when her cell phone rang on January 28th.
On the other end of the line was an emergency worker, who told Neely-Stewart that she needed to drive back to her East Point, Georgia, home. It was on fire. When she arrived, the firemen had doused the flames, but
smoke, fire, and water left behind little that was useable.
She was left without clothing or other of life’s basics – until Red Cross Disaster Action Team members Odell Lewis and John Philip Morrison met her outside her home a couple of days later. Typically, the Red Cross volunteers show up as those who escaped the fire are still standing in the street, wondering what is next, but Neely-Stewart’s drive home contributed to the delay in connecting.
Local fire departments know to call in Red Cross volunteers to help families with emotional support, emergency lodging, financial assistance, and extra items -- like toys for children.
Morrison said they keep a few in the backs of the Red Cross vehicles for the kids displaced by fires, along with a package of personal hygiene items for adults, who are often standing on the street with nothing but the pajamas or clothes on their backs
Lewis also gave Neely-Stewart a spending card that she could use for groceries, clothing, gasoline, or replacing any other of life’s necessities.
“This will help me a lot. It will help me get back on my feet again,” she said.
He told her, “Someone from the Red Cross will be giving you a call in a couple of days to check up on you and see how you are doing.”
The Red Cross responds to a home fire or other disasters every eight minutes. Volunteers stay busy, especially on fire calls.
Since the Home Fire Campaign launched in 2014, the Red Cross has saved more than 1,500 lives across the United States, including 238 in Georgia. Volunteers across the state have installed at least 63,000 smoke alarms making more than 27,000 households safer in Georgia.
Odell, one of approximately 500 Disaster Action Team members statewide, said he may get called out five times a week to help.
Morrison added, “You feel kind of sad,” when you first show up, “But then it feels good to tell them you can help.”
After his retirement, Morrison was watching news reports of 2022’s Hurricane Ian and thought, “I could help out there if it’s just handing out blankets,” he said. He turned to the Red Cross as the outlet for his desire to help last October.
Lewis, bitten by the Red Cross bug in 2011, said, “Once you go to your first one and see the need, you can’t say, no, I don’t want to do this anymore.”
If you, or someone you know, is interested in contributing to the Red Cross mission and becoming a volunteer, or a part of the Disaster Action Team, visit redcross.org/volunteer.
