By Charles Hunter
American Red Cross

What is an ERV and who makes it go? When you think of a disaster the size of Hurricane Ida you immediately know those affected will need help. What you may not know is that dedicated Red Cross volunteers drive Emergency Response Vehicles (ERV) to bring food, water and emergency supplies to individuals in their neighborhood.

American Red Cross volunteers John Mathews of Mexico, Missouri and Ted Barlag of nearby Columbia are trained ERV drivers and members of the Red Cross Central & Northern Missouri Chapter based in Columbia.

With Ida approaching the Gulf Coast states, they volunteered to drive the ERV based in John’s hometown to Louisiana. It wasn’t anything new for either of them. John has been a volunteer for 40 years and deployed to seven disasters in the past two years. Ted has responded to 13 disasters in his16 years with the Red Cross.

They left Missouri on August 31 and drove the ERV to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The next day they picked up 300 meals and drove an hour and a half to New Orleans' 9th ward that was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Fortunately that area did not receive major damage this time but the power was out. For the next few days they returned to the same neighborhood and provided two hot meals each day for individuals.

"Residents in the area were handling the situation well. Most just wanted to tell their story," Ted recalled.

Reflecting on his experience, John noted, "Red Cross teaches a good 'Hello' and a good 'Good-bye' for all of the people we meet.  As ERV volunteers we are often the first contact for those affected by the disaster. The people were wonderful and they were all looking out for one another.”

For instance, he said, two youngsters about ages 12 and 13 were concerned about their neighbors not having food.  With the help of their parents, the children went door to door to let their neighbors know the Red Cross was there to help.

As roads were re-opened to more severely damaged areas, their ERV went Barataria, south of New Orleans, where they saw significant flooding and wind damage. The area also was without power.

Many side streets were impassable for the ERV but the team discovered that a local church had set up a distribution site.  They were warmly welcomed to the parking lot and began serving up hot meals.  Local individuals with high-clearance vehicles began to take 20 to 30 Red Cross meals at a time down muddy side streets to get to their neighbors.

Teamed with John and Ted was Leslie Koons-Chukwu from Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team quickly came to an agreement of division of labor.

John did most of the driving and was outside the ERV at distribution sites to greet individuals and explain the services provided. Ted was inside the ERV putting food from insulated storage units into take-out containers. Leslie was inside the ERV at the serving window greeting residents and handing them their meals.

"I really enjoyed my job of giving out the meals and having a few moments to connect with the recipients.  They were so grateful and full of thanks for the Red Cross.  I thought I had the best job,” Leslie said.

Reflecting on his Red Cross service, Ted said he does it “for two reasons, because I am grateful and because I am selfish.”

“I'm grateful because I have the time and means to help. I know a lot of people don't. Selfish because I like to travel. The Red Cross provides a way for me to do that,” he said.

For his part, John said deployments like this may not be for everyone because there can long days, sleeping on cots in staff shelters and hot and humid weather.

After ticking off the hardships, John quickly adds, “But the kind of responses we receive from those we serve make the trip worthwhile.”