By David Strom, American Red Cross

If you ever need inspiration from someone who has faced multiple obstacles and adversities, let’s talk about Jane Watson. Watson has experienced relocation multiple times due to fire, tornado, and flooding. Yet she is amazingly positive and thankful for all the help that she has received along the way, both from the American Red Cross and other sources.

Let’s start with her most recent experience, a fire in her apartment building in the Central West End. “I lost everything in January 2026. It was the day of a major snowstorm and when I checked my furnace room and around my apartment, I did smell smoke but didn’t see anything.” A few hours later, it was clear there was a fire as her place was filled with smoke and firemen arrived at the building and helped her down the stairs and out into the cold, sub-freezing night. “The fire must have started above my unit, but no alarms or sprinklers went off in the building hallways.” Having grabbed her keys and wallet before leaving the apartment, Watson sought shelter from the cold in her car which was parked away from the building.

“The Red Cross quickly showed up a few hours later and proceeded to help,” Watson shared. “And I did have renter’s insurance which paid for a week’s stay in a nearby hotel. Mr. Scott was one of the Red Cross volunteers who showed up. He helped Watson replace important documents and helped her get organized. “Still, there are many memories from various things that I will never get back,” Watson shared. “Mr. Scott would periodically check on me and told me that I made him smile every time. He found me refreshingly positive, not bitter or angry at my circumstances. I found him very professional and caring, kind and supportive.”

“I am grateful for all the help that I received and wanted to thank Lisa Midgett, who contacted the Red Cross to help all of us affected by the fire, and also my friends at the City of Refuge Christian Church, especially Pastor Ralph Petty.”

As mentioned earlier, this was the third time Watson had faced dire circumstances. The tornado tore through St. Louis in May 2025 damaged her car. “At least I had car insurance to get it repaired,” she said. And in January 2024, the apartment she was living in at the time flooded due to burst pipes. She was able to retrieve some of her belongings but ended up staying at a downtown hotel for a week. Again Red Cross was there to help and provided her and other displaced neighbors with a daily breakfast for a week.

Watson is grateful for having such a great support system around her such as her cousins James and Rhonda Smith and Carmen Lita Jackson as well as her neighbors Allen and Rebecca Bathon, for providing a place to stay when she had to vacate her home, and Marquita Rothrock for her help as well.

Jane Watson’s positivity and cheer is a powerful force that has helped her recover not just from one but from three disasters. “I don’t have any reason to be bitter or hateful. And my faith in God is by my side too!”