Six Spanish speaking military service members from Schofield Barracks with family ties to Puerto Rico are deploying as Red Cross volunteers to help with Hurricane Maria relief efforts.  They will be helping with sheltering and distribution of relief items.

Meanwhile, three Hawaii Red Cross volunteers from Oahu were deployed to Las Vegas to provide assistance in health and mental health services, and communications. 

In addition, over the last six weeks, the American Red Cross has launched a wide-ranging relief effort to help people devastated by three historic, back-to-back hurricanes—Harvey, Irma, and Maria. The Red Cross is on the ground, part of a large team of agencies and organizations responding to provide help to communities turned upside down by these three Category 4 storms.

A total of 67 Hawaii Red Cross volunteers have been deployed to provide shelter, food, comfort and hope to victims of Hurricane Harvey and Irma. For Harvey, a total of 36 volunteers were deployed: 15 from Oahu, 12 from the Big Island, 7 from Maui, and 2 from Molokai.  For Irma, a total 25 volunteers were deployed: 14 from Oahu, 4 from Kauai, 3 from Maui and 4 from the Big Island. For Maria, a total of 6 volunteers were deployed: 2 from the Big Island, and 4 from Oahu.

Four Hawaii Red Cross team members are also assisting virtually; one Big Island volunteer will be assisting as a call agent, one Oahu volunteer is assisting with shelter population counts, one Oahu volunteer is assisting with disaster mental health, and one Oahu staff member is assisting with Service to the Armed Forces Hero Care call center and casework. 

Overall Response Efforts

In the last seven weeks, the Red Cross, along with community and government partners, has provided more than 1.2 million (1,282,000) overnight stays in emergency shelters. Shelters were opened in 8 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This includes—

o For Harvey, 429,000 overnight shelter stays in Texas and Louisiana. 

o For Irma, more than 648,000 overnight shelter stays across six states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

o For Maria, more than 204,000 overnight stays in primarily government shelters across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

• The Red Cross has served more than 6.5 million (6,517,000) meals and snacks, and provided more than 3 million (3,104,000) relief items to people in need.

• Red Cross volunteers have provided more than 182,000 mental health and health services to support and care for those affected. 

• A total of nearly 16,000 trained disaster workers, 91 percent of them volunteers, have been mobilized to support hurricane relief efforts. Many of these workers have supported multiple relief operations or deployed multiple times. In addition, nearly 6,000 spontaneous local volunteers have worked alongside the Red Cross in Texas and Florida. 

• More than 100 Red Cross workers from around the world deployed to the United States to help with hurricane relief efforts. 

• Right now, more than 2,400 Red Cross disaster workers and more than 230 emergency response vehicles are on the ground, helping thousands of people affected by these storms.

About the American Red Cross

The Red Cross is not a government agency and depends on public contributions to help others. All Red Cross assistance to disaster victims is free. Your gift supports the lifesaving mission of the American Red Cross in your community, across the country and around the world.  To send a contribution, mail your check to: 

American Red Cross of Hawaii

4155 Diamond Head Road

Honolulu, HI  96816