First Disaster Call

After months of volunteering at the Red Cross sending out emails and cleaning closets, I was presented with the opportunity to go on an emergency response call. After hours of training videos, instructional of pamphlets and conversations, I was still wholly unprepared.

In retrospect, it is impossible to fully train someone on how to best support people who are experiencing a disaster. There are some emotions that can’t be explained in a video – the hopelessness in one’s voice after they have just lost everything in a fire, the underlying uncertainty of the immediate future. The most obvious of these emotions is the situational distance between the rescuer, who still has their security and normality, and the disaster victim who has just had their security and normality suddenly whisked away. No matter how many training videos exist, nothing can prepare you for these emotions.

I quickly found myself facing these emotions as I visited a Lubbock resident whose house had just burned down. I had come to the Red Cross that day expecting to do volunteer office work, so I was dressed in trendy office wear much better suited for office parties than consoling fire victims. The weather was miserable that day — a mildly cold temperature made miserable by cutting Lubbock winds. At the table outside the remains of their house, the victims sat shivering. Most of the blankets and jackets, as well as all of their other possessions, were gone.

It was my job to help collect information, as well as provide information on how the Red Cross can help. The Red Cross provides assistance to any resident who suffers from a fire, and the process of setting up assistance does take time. Gathering information was difficult, as giving information is hard to do after having your house burn down. While collecting information, it was important to listen to the victim’s stories and thoughts.

As I tried to formulate questions to ask these people, I felt increasingly out of place. What these people needed was assistance and understanding. I could help provide assistance, but I could never understand the pain they were probably feeling. I have never been through a crisis like this, and it felt like the absurdity of my clothes and the hesitancy in my questions proved it.

Home Fire Photo from the Lubbock AJ

Despite these feelings, I was so glad to be apart of that situation. While many families have safety nets they can fall back on after situations like these, in many situations the Red Cross is some of the only support victims receive. With thousands of families being afflicted by costly fire damages, I am incredibly proud to belong to an organization that can provide physical, legitimate support. I may not be the best at providing emotional support to people in need (for now, at least), but I am so happy I am a part of an organization that allows me to be there and give help to those who have lost so much.

Guest contributor J. Miller