This is one of the Red Cross shelters set up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to take care of those impacted by Hurricane Ida. People coming to the shelter had a safe place to stay after the storm (American Red Cross photo by Scott Dalton)
Elizabeth Ramirez and her grandson, Christopher, talks to a Red Cross shelter worker in Baton Rouge, Louisiana after Hurricane Ida made landfall. The storm left her without any power so she came to the shelter to have a safe, dry place to stay. (American Red Cross photo by Scott Dalton)
Red Cross volunteer Teri Welcher of Minnesota uses American Sign Language to converse with a resident in a Red Cross shelter in Baton Rouge, Louisiana after Hurricane Ida made landfall. (American Red Cross photo by Scott Dalton)
For Pamela Donley, a key role of an American Red Cross shelter worker is to give comfort and hope to those deeply affected by disasters like Hurricane Ida.
"I'm a very upbeat person. I sometimes have to remind them, you are sitting here and you came through Ida. Things can be replaced, but your health and welfare are more important," she said.
"They see us and they think others will help too. They see hope and know a lot of help is out there for them,” said Pamela who is from St. Charles, Missouri and a member of the Greater St. Louis Chapter
Pamela, who joined the Red Cross after 9/11 and has completed 12 national deployments, was deployed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana ahead of Ida making landfall.
Her first assignment was to set up a shelter for residents so they would have a safe place to wait out the storm and a place where they could eat and sleep afterward. In the following days portable showers were also set up.
Pamela said her special education and social work training allowed her to better identify those in need. For instance, she saw that one family had a son with a medical condition.
"I coordinated with some local firefighters to help the son move to a place in the shelter where he would be safe and get the care he needed," Pamela said.
"During a disaster, shelters serve a very diverse group of local residents affected by the storm. It is essential that the Red Cross recruit a wide range of volunteers including those with bilingual skills and those with disabilities to relate to those in need.”
To Pamela, providing that kind of assistance to those in need comes naturally.
"I come from a family of social workers, it's in the blood. I absolutely love helping people, she said. “It must be in your heart. You must run with the punches and see the work as a mission. Not everyone can do that."