By: Shannon Carley, American Red Cross

Denise Cohen has spent 50 years living, working as a nurse and teaching on Maui. Over the years she has watched the island evolve and says that, despite the changes, “Lahaina was always the gathering place.” When the Maui wildfires broke out on August 8, 2023, she knew she wanted to find a way to help her island recover. As soon as she could she began volunteering with the Red Cross. Initially she assisted with supplies and then heard that she could use her professional skills as a nurse. She had recently retired from teaching at Maui College and felt called to contribute her skills to Maui’s recovery.

After training, she became an Individual Disaster Care Chief with Disaster Health Services, primarily supporting the Non-congregate Sheltering Program (NCS) that housed wildfire survivors temporarily in hotels. Over 2.2 million overnight stays were provided during the disaster response and recovery. Denise is one of over 2,000 Red Cross disaster staff and volunteers that responded to the Maui wildfires.

In the years since, Denise has remained a Red Cross volunteer. She felt that it was important to find time to help other communities as well as her own. Currently, she is in Spokane, Washington, as catastrophic wildfires continue to burn across the Pacific Northwest. Here, she is working in a shelter to provide health care to those who have been displaced. While working the other day she ran into a familiar face that she last saw in Lahaina.

Barb Wharton was Denise’s mentor when she first trained to be a Disaster Health Services Red Crosser. Barb has been a Red Cross volunteer for nine years and often trains and evaluates other nurses to help them advance in the Red Cross system. Although Barb explains, “In Red Cross no one knows everything. Everyone is mentoring everyone in one way or another. You share your knowledge.”

The Red Cross volunteer system strives to empower volunteers to share their knowledge and time near and far. When disaster strikes communities rely on support from their neighbors, those across the ocean or in the town next door.
 

“There was a lot of good people from Spokane that came and helped us when we needed it. I feel very privileged that I can turn around and help other communities when they are under threat.”

– Denise Cohen

As of August 6, the Western Wildfires forced more than 67,000 people to evacuate and destroyed more than 830 structures. This past Saturday, August 8, was the third-year remembrance of the Maui wildfires. Denise’s journey reflects the spirit that has carried so many communities through disaster: neighbors helping neighbors, and volunteers answering the call wherever it comes from. Today, Red Cross volunteers like Denise and Barb are supporting people impacted by wildfires across the West, continuing a cycle of compassion that stretches from Lahaina to Spokane and beyond.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org/hawaii or follow us on social media.