By: David Burke, Public Affairs

As the heavy rain continued to come down, Joyce Thompson had no idea how she would be able to take care of her family. Joyce’s home was one of the many homes damaged or destroyed in Milwaukee due to the floods that swept through southeast Wisconsin in early August. Sadly, as Joyce and her husband know all too well, when you have a family of nine and a flooded house, you don’t have a lot of options. Following her mother’s suggestion, Joyce contacted the American Red Cross, and the family relocated to a shelter on Milwaukee’s south side the next day.

The family had no idea what to expect at the shelter, so when they arrived, they sat outside for a few minutes to gather their courage to go in. Joyce was concerned about how her children would react to an unfamiliar place full of strangers, but she was immediately put at ease by the warm greeting the family received from the shelter workers.  From the very first hello, they were shown respect and compassion and treated like family.  She praised the shelter staff’s efforts to find clothing and baby supplies for her children. “I want to say thank you to the Red Cross for the love and kindness that you showed to my family. My kids love the Red Cross people who helped us,” she said.

For Joyce, having access to emotional support has been critical to her mental health and well-being. The shelter team helped to create a recovery plan to get her family back into their home, which Joyce said was a major source of hope. She was also impressed by how the Red Cross was able to connect her with other community partners who could offer support.

Her young boys thought Patrick, one of the shelter managers, was funny, and they signed his shirt, explaining to their mom that on every deployment Patrick goes on, he buys a local shirt and has the shelter residents sign it so he can remember them when he goes home. Knowing that someone would still think of them after they left the shelter meant a lot to the boys.

Joyce also shared that the friendships and emotional support she found at the shelter helped her cope with the devastation her family faced. “I just want to say keep doing what you’re doing because you don’t know who you touch and who you make smile and who will be thinking about you, even when you’re gone,” she said. “That’s me and my children, the Thompson family.  We love you and thank you so very much.”

You can be part of this amazing network of neighbors helping neighbors. The American Red Cross is in need of shelter workers in. Go to Redcross.org/volunteer to become a part of our team.