By Kristin Goodwillie

“It’s very stressful. Especially when you have a disabled child, it’s different.”

That is the reality for Ubah Dahraan and her son, Abdirauf Isse, who were transported to a Red Cross shelter at the Auburn Community and Event Center in the middle of the night. The City of Auburn had just issued a Level 3, "Leave Now" evacuation order.

Ubah, who lives with her son—who is immobile and uses a wheelchair—and two daughters, watched as the apartment complex began to flood and the roads in and out closed. She emphasizes that evacuating with a disabled family member added an extra layer of stress.

“We have to say thanks God, because imagine sleeping in the middle of night and the flood came,” Ubah recalled.

That is exactly what happened, and volunteers like Frank Rivera were there to greet them. This is Frank’s third time deploying to a natural disaster, and he says moments like this affirm his commitment to the Red Cross. “I’ve always wanted to help people out. I can’t stand to see people lose what they’ve worked so hard for.”

The Red Cross was able to provide specialized support, including a medical bed and a changing station for Abdirauf. This tailored assistance is the focus of our Disability Integration Team, who advocate for people and provide essential items like wheelchairs, walkers, and medical supplies.

“We have a lot to be thankful for; we really appreciate it,” Ubah said. “The helping means they care.”

While Ubah doesn’t yet know the extent of the damage to her home, she says the entire situation could have been much worse. “Thanks God and thanks for the Red Cross. We feel safe.”

She ended with gratitude: “I want to say thank you, thank you for everything. We really, really appreciate it. Especially when you have this kind of emergency, we have a lot of devastation.”