American Red Cross – Page 8 – Gold Country News and Notes

Red Cross Renews Memorandum of Agreement with FEMA

The American Red Cross has renewed its Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The MOA is aimed at defining the overarching goals of the relationship between the two organizations. The Red Cross and FEMA last signed an MOA in 2010. The 2010 MOA focused on the collaboration between the two organizations in coordinating and delivering mass care services during disaster responses, and specifically on the Red Cross role as co-lead for mass care portion of Emergency Support Function-6, one of 15 Emergency Support Functions identified in the National Response Framework.

Since 2010, both FEMA and the Red Cross have enhanced their perspective to include all phases of the disaster cycle. In 2011, President Obama signed Presidential Policy Directive 8, which tasked FEMA with coordinating the production of National Planning Frameworks across the disaster cycle, including prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. In 2012, the Red Cross undertook a business process reengineering effort that resulted in alignment of its disaster preparedness, response, and recovery mission areas.

While the MOA still addresses the Red Cross co-lead role in Emergency Support Function-6, it also recognizes the important role the Red Cross plays in other Emergency Support Functions, Recovery Support Functions, and preparedness functions.

“This renewed MOA is a great reflection of Disaster Cycle Services and the goals and vision we set with re-engineering,” said Richard Reed, Senior Vice-President for Disaster Cycle Services. “Working together with FEMA, we expanded our agreement to ensure our partnership covered the entire disaster cycle. And we now have an agreement that is not only more strategic in nature but also speaks to the specifics of how our two organizations work together in preparedness, response and recovery.”

The MOA can be found on the Government MOU Index on The Exchange. Contact the Emergency Management Coordination unit with questions.

Service to the Armed Forces Reconnection Workshop

Author: Fatima Yusuf (Summer Intern)

When soldiers return home, they can have a a joyous yet, sometimes a stressful time adjusting to their new life after service. While most military families are excited to see their beloved ones return from deployment, many are faced with the challenges of rebuilding relationships within their homes and community.

The American Red Cross in partnership with Walmart has been providing “Reconnection Workshops” for military families allowing for positive reunions for military families and their returning deployed military loved ones.

The workshops are free and are run by actively licensed and specially trained Red Cross mental health volunteers. Topics that are discussed include: managing anger, supporting children, post traumatic stress disorder, building communication, and other topics critical to reunion adjustment. This workshop is a complement of the “Red Cross Coping with Deployments: Psychological First Aid for Military Families” program which focuses on building resiliency and coping with challenges of the deployment cycle. Both programs have shown a remarkable amount of progress in providing service members and their families a tool to grow in terms of their relationships. The workshop in all it’s glory demonstrates how a positive environment to communicate can lead a long way in comforting our service members as they return back to their beloved homeland.

Tobrin Hewitt, Service to the Armed Forces Program Manager of the American Red Cross Gold Country Region shared his perspective on the program in an interview:

Why is the “Reconnection Workshop” a program families should consider during the return of deployed military family members?

“A lot of service members return home from deployments and successfully readjust to their lives and within their community; however, some solders have a harder time transitioning back from the high tempo of a deployment. Some of the challenges that service members face include readjusting to their partners, engaging children, redefining the family routine, and managing health problems that can be present after deployment.”

What is the most rewarding part of the program for most families?

“The tools that service members gain from these workshops which are instrumental in rebuilding positive relationships with their own families and society.”

How is the program usually run and what can attendees expect from a session?

“The workshops are small groups (3-12) and they are 90 minutes long. One of five topics that will be discussed will be selected based on the needs of the individual group during each specific workshop session. Some important topics include communicating clearly, exploring stress and trauma, identifying depression, relating to children, and working through anger.”

Is there anything crucial that the attendees should consider or prepare for before they attend a session?

“The workshops are geared towards participation so including service members personal experiences helps towards the overall effectiveness of the workshop.”

The workshop is available to all service members and their family members interested in seeking post-deployment support.

For more information visit our website or contact SAF Manager Tobrin Hewitt.

Three Months Later: Red Cross Recovery Efforts Ongoing in Nepal

Three months have passed since the devastating earthquake rocked Nepal and its aftershocks shook surrounding locations. The Red Cross is still there providing relief and helping to rebuild.

On April 25, 2015 Nepal was severely impacted by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which took the lives of many and left others homeless and in a state of helplessness.

ifrc-nepal-earthquake-infographic — Click the Infographic to enlarge

5.6 million people were affected, and of that number 17,932 people were injured and 8,856 people were killed. On top of the loss of lives 543,034 houses were destroyed.

To date nearly 8,000 Red Cross volunteers and staff have been deployed, and more than $13.6 million have been spent or committed to emergency relief and shelter and cash distribution.

With generous support and donations we have provided health services including medical care, first aid and psychosocial support; we’ve distributed more than 2.8 million liters of safe water, and more than 7,000 relief kits and hygiene kits have been distributed to Nepal survivors.

This natural disaster was one of the largest to strike Nepal since 1934, and we will continue to do all that we can to assist with the restoration and rebuild of Nepal. Our primary areas of focus are food, water, shelter, health care and cash grants.

We are confident that we can extend our hand to aid in relief efforts.

Read some of the stories of the people impacted by this disaster: http://rdcrss.org/1E3Hjiy

Clara Barton For #TheNew10

The U.S. Department of the Treasury recently announced a redesign of the ten-dollar bill, to include a notable woman as the new face of the bill. Many minds at the Red Cross jumped immediately to our founder, Clara Barton. Here is a brief summary of who she was!

Barton is one of the most honored women in American history. She was a schoolteacher and also one of the first women to work for the federal government.

Risking her life, Barton offered support, food and supplies to soldiers who were fighting in the Civil War. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, Barton used her expertise to help distribute relief supplies and set up stations where work could be done.

On May 21, 1881, Barton and a group of like-minded individuals founded the American Association of the Red Cross, and she led it for 23 years! The Red Cross received its first congressional charter in 1900 and a second in 1905.

Since then Barton published several books pertaining to the American Red Cross. She had a special interest for things that would promote a better future for all like education, prison reform, women’s suffrage, civil rights, and even spiritualism.

Barton has contributed so much to so many, and her devout love for humanity along with her willingness to serve others was revealed time and time again through her actions, and resulted in enough achievements to fill several ordinary lifetimes.

For more information on the history of Clara Barton visit, http://rdcrss.org/1jMbimy

A Full Circle Moment

Thanks to Fox40 for sharing the work that we do at the American Red Cross and thanks to the Girl Scouts for putting extra love in making the kits.

We would like to share this special ‘full circle moment” that showcases how our work is impacting people every day.

Email from Jennifer Loncaric
Subject: What we do works.

“I thought you might like this. That’s a note my daughter wrote when she helped make comfort kits with Jasmine a few months ago. The girl holding it was also there helping that day. She is Trina’s (my co-leader) step-daughter. Their house was burnt early Sunday morning after a mortar hit the front porch. We don’t know how long they will be displaced, but the Red Cross visited them today with some help. It’s a beautiful thing to see the joy on her face from something so small in such a tragic time for her family. I am overwhelmed with emotion knowing my girls have had such a local and personal impact.”

Thanks to the kind efforts of local girl scout troops, many families struck by home fires have received useful Red Cross Comfort Kits during such a stressful time in their lives. Jasmine Su an HSS instructor and Girl Scout troop leader helped to create these kits through the help of her troops. Here is a picture of one of her troop members holding a very heartfelt message which was addressed to the family that suffered from the tragedy.

We take much pleasure in sharing this moment to demonstrate the positive support of these young ladies during times of stress.

A Red Cross Mission Moment

Truckee Air Show

We arrived at the Truckee airport to a crisp cool early morning breeze, setting up our easy – up tent, tables, literature, color coded spinning wheel & prize selections.

All routine tasks for a day of “questions & answers” relating to possible disasters in One’s community. The crowds were growing as we began our mission.

The music playing was of 1930-1940 era. a few patriotic songs and a pledge of allegiance to begin the air show.

What was not routine was the beautiful sky, filled with wonderful sights of aircraft tricks and spins with incredible speed and ear piercing “roaring Jet engines” that criss- crossed each other and flew in very close precision formation.

It was thrilling, to say the least. The men and women of the military and civilian pilots alike were the heroes of the day.

I am guessing there were several hundred people in attendance if not a few thousand. We were kept busy most of the day with lots of Kids!
The Red Cross Volunteers present were : Tami Martin, Beryl Mayne, Larry & Esther Bousquet of Truckee, Calif.

A very pleasant day was had by all.

From: Beryl Mayne

In the Eyes of a DAT Volunteer

Just when you though that Placer County would NEVER get another DAT call it happened early this morning.

At 1:30 a.m. the phone rang. It was our Disaster Program Manager (DPM) Tami Martin. Poor telephone connection but we finally communicated. I had been deep in sleep so it took me awhile to get dressed – out the door at 1:45 headed for the back hills of Auburn. Tami invited some others to respond and Arry Murphy said yes! OK – we were a team. I was pleased that Arry said yes. She had only limited experience with 901s, even less with CAS2.0 or DCSOps. But, when given a task, she plows ahead and asks good questions. Dependable, reliable, accurate, smiles, laughs, doesn’t take herself too seriously, all great attributes.

At 2:30 a.m. I finally arrived at a very busy scene. Probably 8 fire trucks all with flashing lights were easy to see once I got close to the address. I found the incident Commander and he pointed out one of the occupants (the wife). As is typical the front yard was strewn with household items that the firemen had been able to salvage.

The fire started in the garage of the one story ranch style home then quickly spread to the attic and across the whole home. After the fire reached the other end of the home, where the bedrooms were located, the home had filled with smoke and the smoke alarm finally went off. It certainly saved this family of three plus their four animals (1 dog, 3 cats). By the time the fire department reached this remote home, it was fully engulfed.

Arry and I learned that the family would stay with friends and that they had structural insurance so we provided them with food and clothing allowances plus comfort kits. The 7-year-old daughter was well behaved, but it looked like she would sleep for a week once she finally got into a bed.

We left at 4:00 a.m. with CAC card authorized and the clients very appreciative of our support. My take home… the mother’s smile. Genuine, sincere, caring, grateful. It was a good night.

I fell asleep at 5:30 a.m. after driving home, eating a toasted English muffin with peanut butter and finishing the paperwork.

For other DAT volunteers, if you have not done so already, ask about how to put your availability into DCSOps. If your not in DCSOps we don’t know about your availability. Need help, just ask. PLACER DAT ROCKS!!!

Best Regards, Heath Wakelee American Red Cross Volunteer Placer DAT Team Captain

A Light in the Red Cross Family that will not be Forgotten

Red Cross volunteers are unlike any other. Not only do they help individuals and families when any disaster big or small affects their communities, they also go above and beyond to help in every area of our operations. What makes our volunteers unique is the bond they form amongst other Red Cross volunteers – they become an instant family.

Today, it’s a somber day for our family of volunteers in Modesto and the entire Gold Country region as we said our final good bye’s and recollected the impact one of our own made in our communities.

Our passionately devoted volunteer Debbie Brasher passed away at home peacefully in her sleep. During her celebration of life, it was clear that she touched hundreds of people’s lives. A church full of family and friends recalled her eagerness to serve, passion for volunteering at various organizations and her desire to keep smiling and make other people grin.

Debbie volunteered for the Red Cross in our Modesto office for more than five years. Since her first time she stepped inside the office, she began training, being proactive in projects, taking a leadership role and making things happen.

“Debbie was a hard worker and a treasured volunteer,” said Debbie Calcotte, Disaster Program Manager for the Gold Country Region. “She never said no. She would take the time to do whatever assignment accurately with a smile on her face and a great attitude.”

Mrs. Brasher was involved in Red Cross event coordination for both public events as well as events organized by the chapters. She helped with documenting future shelter locations and was part of a Disaster Action Team. Debbie was deployed to Washington to assist providing food and water to clients affected by the fires a couple of years ago.

Debbie, a long-time Hughson resident began volunteering for our organization after a long career in the California court system first in Alameda County and then in Stanislaus County where she held the positions of Assistant Administrator and most recently, IT Director. She was especially honored of her volunteer work with the American Red Cross and missionary service work in India and Mississippi.

“Debbie was always compassionate towards other volunteers, everything she said was always positive,” recalls Liza Cruz, a Red Cross employee. “She is surely going to be missed.”

Valued Volunteers Help Us Fulfill Our Lifesaving Mission – Join The Team!

Red Cross volunteer Andy Grossman talks with Weed resident Karly Gregory at the site where her home once stood.

When people see the Red Cross responding to emergencies, they often want to help but don’t know how. We want to help you get involved now, before a major disaster strikes.

Our volunteers respond to a local emergency every 11 hours. In these events, the Red Cross provides shelter, food, and health and mental health services to help families and entire communities get back on their feet. Although the Red Cross is not a government agency, it is an essential part of the response when disaster strikes. We work in partnership with other agencies and organizations that provide services to disaster victims.

Most of you have probably noticed reports of several fires in our region. With our record drought conditions, it will not be surprising to have many more, and the danger of a big fire is greater than ever.

The Red Cross has had a presence in the Gold Country region for over 100 years with a modest number of dedicated individuals. Now only a very small number of volunteers remain to provide initial help to folks who have lost their homes, who need a place to stay, food, and maybe critical prescription medications. These same volunteers are regularly the ones to start the process of setting up evacuation centers and shelters for large disasters.

If our local volunteers are not available because of vacations or illness, volunteers from Yuba City or Sacramento will respond, but driving time will insure it won’t be as prompt. Consider your family standing beside the ashes of what used to be your house without money, credit cards, car keys, phone and phone numbers, only the clothing on their backs – would waiting an extra hour or two for help make a difference?

Volunteer Carrie Reilly delivers water and supplies to residents impacted by 2014's Boles Fire in Weed, CA. — Volunteer Carrie Reilly delivers water and supplies to residents impacted by 2014’s Boles Fire in Weed, CA.

You can make a difference by volunteering with the American Red Cross. We’ll find the position that appeals to you and allows you to use your skills and talents. Requirements are few: 18 or over, retired or with a flexible work/school schedule. We do require a background check of all our volunteers, We do this to ensure both our volunteers and clients have a positive interaction with the Red Cross .

We have several areas where you can get involved, from communications/public affairs to disaster response and recovery, fundraising, preparing the community for a disaster and general administrative support. For more information or to sign up visit: www.redcross.org/GoldCountry.

Sign up for the Team Red Cross App, which allows you to sign up to help, get an overview of basic tasks and receive notifications about Red Cross disaster volunteer opportunities in your community.

Saved by the Smoke Detector

In the early morning hours on June 2, two homes on Tilden Drive in Roseville were caught on fire. Neighbors spotted smoke coming from the homes and called their local fire department, which arrived shortly after.

Homeowner Jim Meron was asleep when the fire broke out, but his smoke detector’s loud alarm alerted him to danger.

“It’s surreal,” Meron said. “You’re not awake and you can’t believe it’s happening. You’re awestruck. No doubt, no doubt, the smoke detector saved my life.”

The two-alarm fire completely destroyed one of the homes, and the other home was damaged by smoke. Thankfully, everyone made it out safely.

Incidents like this are a clear reminder of why the American Red Cross Gold Country Region is pushing to reduce the number of home fires with the Home Fire Campaign.

The number of residential fire death actually increased by nearly 15% in 2013. Smoke alarms cut the risk of death from a fire in half, so the Red Cross is focusing the efforts of our coalition of organizations on installing smoke alarms in homes in some of the most fire-affected neighborhoods around the country.

We’re joining with fire departments and community groups to canvass neighborhoods, install smoke alarms and deliver fire prevention information in places we know have high numbers of fires.

The Red Cross also is asking every household in America to join us in taking the two simple steps that can save lives: checking their existing smoke alarms and practicing fire drills at home.

Here are some alarming facts:

On average, seven Americans die in home fires every day.

When smoke alarms fail to operate, it is usually because their batteries are missing, disconnected or dead. Almost one-quarter of smoke alarm failures are due to dead batteries.

Nearly two-thirds of all fire deaths happen in homes that have no smoke
alarms or malfunctioning units.

Our region’s goal was to install 1,000 Smoke detectors in 2014-15, and with help for our local fire departments and volunteers, we have been able to install 1,131! Our other accomplishments include:

-2,190 homes canvased

-781 emergency plans developed

-436 CO monitors installed

-339 batteries in smoke alarms and CO monitors replaced

Round of applause and a big ‘thank you’ goes out to everyone who made this happen.

People can visit redcross.org/GoldCountry to find out more about how to protect themselves and their loved homes from fire and find out the location of local smoke alarm installation event.