By Jan Coopman, American Red Cross

Susan Hyde-Mahoney focuses on learning about other people’s cultures to best serve their needs, whether she’s helping Alaskan residents after a typhoon, St. Louis communities in the wake of a tornado or her neighbors in North Texas, building trust by fixing the problems nobody else notices.

A Nebraska native, Hyde-Mahoney has volunteered with the American Red Cross North Texas Region since 2005, serving in multiple roles, including regional sheltering steady state co-lead. She was initially drawn to the organization through brainstorming and collaboration and quickly learned that impacted residents remember the people who help them more than the money they receive.

She spent 96 days deployed after Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and has since been inspired by the resilience, compassion and leadership of Red Cross volunteers and staff who drive meaningful change.

More recently, she deployed to Alaska, where she embedded herself in the local culture to help the residents following devastation caused by Typhoon Halong.

While helping Alaskan residents, Hyde-Mahoney said the biggest barriers to overcome were language, as Yup’ik is the predominant language spoken by most indigenous Alaskans, and finding culturally appropriate foods. This helped her gain residents’ trust and established a rapport that improved communication, understanding, and service to the Alaskans.

Through her Alaska deployment, Hyde-Mahoney learned to speak slowly, talk quietly, listen, and make connections with the people she served. She has seen ordinary people do extraordinary things in moments of crisis.

Over the past 18 months, she focused on how she could best create a better experience for residents and other volunteers by immersing herself in Red Cross training programs, seeking out Red Cross deployment opportunities involving complex sheltering and advocating for residents and volunteers to better meet various needs.

Reaching beyond the standard survey of questions given, she often asks, “How are you really doing?”

Hyde-Mahoney cited her St. Louis deployment as an example of building trust through cultural awareness. The original comfort kits were not appropriate for residents with textured hair, causing increased brittleness and hair loss. She addressed the issue by researching the gaps, identifying suitable products, securing vendors, obtaining Red Cross approval and ordering replacements. The changes improved the kits and strengthened residents’ trust in the Red Cross.

She remembers helping a new mother in a shelter by engaging community partners, including Team Rubicon, who funded a baby shower for safety items like a bassinet and a crib. She also gave the mother instructions on how to help the newborn after this catastrophic event. After the baby was born, the mother assumed her assistance had run out, yet the Red Cross still helped as needed.

Hyde-Mahoney knows every volunteer is critical.

“Tell me something you want to grow in, and we’ll always find a place for you in which to serve in various ways at the American Red Cross,” she said. “You’ll help, motivate others and learn much from those we serve too.”

About the American Red Cross

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, 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 us at redcross.org/NorthTexas,  CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow RedCrossNTX on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.