ALABAMA 1 MONTH LATER
TURNING COMPASSION INTO HOPE AND RECOVERY
Long after the television cameras move on and public
attention to the Alabama tornadoes fades, the Red Cross will
be there until every last Alabaman is taken care of. Last
month, thousands of Alabamans had little warning that their
lives were about to change. Dozens of tornadoes ripped
through the state, devastating families, homes, businesses
and communities. More than 23,600 homes were affected, with
more than half destroyed or significantly damaged.
Approximately 350 people lost their lives.
With your support, the Red Cross was there within moments
of the disaster to provide shelter, warm meals, vital
necessities, health services and a shoulder to lean on.
“If not for the Red Cross, I don’t know where I’d be,”
says Shane Eberhart as he held a display of family photos
that he salvaged from his home. The band of tornadoes in
late April was the second major disaster in the past year to
leave Shane, his wife and their two children homeless. The
Red Cross responded to both emergencies, providing essential
disaster relief services.
The Initial Response
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Because of donors
like y ou, the Red Cross has been able
to respond
to the April 2011 tornadoes in Alabama
by:
7,000
people for at
least one night
Serving over
1
million meals
and snacks
Distributing nearly
60,000 hygiene
kits and comfort kits, which include
essential items such as mops, dust
masks, and gloves.
Providing nearly
900,000 bulk
items, such as rakes and tarps
Enlisting the hard
work of more than
2,200
Red Cross
workers
Deploying
100
Emergency
Response Vehicles
Registering nearly
1,300
people in the
Safe and Well website, which helps
people find their loved ones
Consulting nearly
25,000
affected residents on their health
and mental health needs.
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Tornadoes can come with little warning,
causing a family to lose their home in an instant. In these
darkest of times, individuals and families turned to the
American Red Cross and its generous donors like you for
shelter, food,
emotional support, and emergency assistance.
Alabama residents whose lives were turned upside down by the
tornadoes were given vital necessities such as hot meals and
snacks, hygiene kits, and health and mental health support.
Over 1 million meals and snacks were served at shelters and
throughout the communities by Red Cross Emergency Response
Vehicles.
As the Red Cross met the immediate needs of
the people affected, Disaster Assessment Teams were sent out
to determine resources and staff that would be necessary for
an efficient and effective response. Red Cross Disaster
Assessment teams visited tens of thousands of homes in April
and May to determine the scope of the response.
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| Amy Hall sits on a cot in the Red Cross shelter with her children Karter
Matthews, age 1 (in blue shirt with facial injuries) and Kristyn Matthews, age
10 months. Hall says her house was flattened in the tornado and that young
Karter was buried in the rubble for a long eight minutes. When they pulled him
out and took him to a hospital they learned that he had suffered a concussion,
fractured nose, fractured right jaw and bruised lung. Nonetheless, he is
expected to make a full recovery and Hall is thankful for the Red Cross support
she's received. |
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Partnerships
The Red Cross has worked with dozens of
partner organizations to make provide essential services to
the affected residents in Alabama such as necessary items,
feeding, and spiritual care. For example, the Salvation Army
and the Southern Baptist Convention worked with the Red
Cross to provide meals and snacks. Save the Children helped
to distribute infant and child supplies, and Children’s
Disaster Services provided child respite care.
The Continued Response
In the coming weeks and months, the Red
Cross will continue casework efforts to provide assistance
to those affected in Alabama. Caseworkers meet one-onone
with affected people to determine their needs, help them
identify available resources, and develop a plan for
recovery. In addition, Red Cross case managers serve as
advocates for the disaster survivors, helping them navigate
the maze of assistance available to them.
Your Role
All of this would not be possible without
the support of individuals, community organizations,
corporations and foundations. Red Cross disaster
relief programs ensures that lifesaving services are
available immediately to all people affected by disaster, as
well as to prepare communities for disasters before they
strike.
With your support, the Red Cross can be
there for families and individuals affected by disasters.
Thank you for helping us continue this life saving work.
Your support is critical to providing a safe, warm and dry
place to stay, food, emotional support and many other kinds
of assistance- whenever and
wherever disaster strikes.
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The
Support of Donors
You can help people affected
by disasters like the Alabama tornadoes, as well as
countless crises at home and around the world, by
making a donation to support American Red Cross
Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to
prepare for and provide shelter, food, emotional
support and other assistance in response to
disasters. Visit www.redcross.org or call
1-800-RED-CROSS. Contributions may also be sent |
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