By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
In the aftermath of Hurricane Debby, volunteers with the American Red Cross have been deployed to assist and provide relief.
Executive Director of the northwest Missouri chapter JoAnn Woody says the primary effort by volunteers is providing people affected a safe place to be
"People have evacuated their homes in preparation for the hurricane impact or if they have been displaced, if they've had to leave their homes because of flood waters or hurricane or tornado damage, they need a safe place to go," Woody tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "And so that is our first priority, providing individuals and families a safe place to sleep and to stay while they figure out what the next steps are."
16 volunteers from Missouri have been deployed, two of those coming from northwest Missouri.
Woody says the two from the chapter have volunteered with the Red Cross for close to a year now.
"They have been so gung-ho and they are absolutely loving the humanitarian effort and they enjoy going out on deployments like this," Woody says. "This is not their first assignment, I believe they went to Hawaii after the wildfires, they've been to Florida on previous disasters last year."
Woody says the couple will serve on the emergency response vehicle crews helping deliver meals or emergency supplies people might need.
Volunteers assisting in the efforts in Florida are asked to stay for two, sometimes three weeks, to help in the area.
Woody says that part alone takes a special kind of person to volunteer.
"To be able to pick up and go stay somewhere far away from home, far away from anything that makes us comfortable and that we rely on, and to provide that kind of care and comfort," Woody explains. "These assignments are not easy, sometimes our volunteers are sleeping in staff shelters on cots in very rugged conditions I guess you would say."
28 volunteers overall from Missouri and Arkansas have been deployed