‘Heartfelt experience’

A journey to hurricane-damaged areas of Florida put three Spokane Valley women in the middle of helping disaster victims.

LuAnn Stallcop, who once lived in Florida, wanted to go after hearing of the destruction from four major hurricanes since August. She volunteered through the Inland Northwest American Red Cross chapter along with Marilyn Greer and Donna Cave.

They left for Florida around Oct. 8 and returned late last week.

“I just had this heart tug that I had to go,” said Stallcop this week. “It was a very heartfelt experience.”

Greer returned with a feeling that Florida victims were grateful for any help in the midst of their losses. Cave said some people were shocked that she came all the way from Washington state.

“People were upset, tired, frustrated,” Cave said, “but every day I had people hug me and say they were glad we were there.”

All three women volunteer locally through the Sheriff’s Community Oriented Policing Effort (SCOPE) and Sheriff Incident Response Team (SIRT) emergency training. They also completed Red Cross training. About 40 Spokane-area residents recently volunteered through the Red Cross in Florida and nearby regions following a nationwide request, said Dave Baker, the agency’s director of emergency services in Spokane.

Stallcop and Greer, with SCOPE East in Otis Orchards, helped with family services at a Red Cross center in Vero Beach, Fla., southeast of Orlando. Stallcop interviewed victims about damages and Greer helped with hotline phone calls.

“Most people were so grateful to get help of any kind,” Greer said. “I did the hotline when people didn’t know where to go or who to contact. I’d tell them what kind of help we were giving or I’d refer them.”

Cave, a University SCOPE member, was sent to volunteer for a Red Cross center in Fort Pierce, about 25 miles south of Vero Beach. Both communities received damage from Hurricane Frances on Sept. 5 and Hurricane Jeanne on Sept. 25.

Volunteers working in Florida three weeks ago still had much work to do. Families typically had to wait for at least a week for restored electricity service before being allowed to return to homes and survey damage, Stallcop said.

“Then when they get to their homes, everything has a lot of mold,” Stallcop explained. “It is very dangerous for your lungs.”

Cave also did family services, working at a door and at a screening table. “For us, we had crowds every day,” Cave said. “There was some confusion. We had some angry people, but the police were always there.

“It was a lot of calming people down.”

Greer and Stallcop also saw long lines the first few days. “We had some people line up at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning to get a spot,” Greer said.

“When we showed up, we had lines around the building,” added Stallcop, who also went on a few home visits to check on damage. “They decided to come up with a system that (people) had to get appointments.”

“Sometimes, we’d give people money right there. Other times, we had to do a home visit.”

Despite 10- to-12-hour work days, the volunteers saw some of the widespread destruction. Cave described huge piles of debris along roads.

“There were piles after piles of their stuff, their couches, their beds,” she said. “What you didn’t see is how the water came through the roofs and down the walls. Some condos had four feet of sand.”

Cave stayed mostly at a youth camp while the other two women stayed at a motel that had only partial damage. The Red Cross covered the cost of their airline flight and food.

All three said the experience has inspired them to volunteer locally for the Red Cross Disaster Action Team, which responds to fire-damaged residences. Volunteers are needed for calls that happen an average of every 72 hours in the Spokane area.

Cave, Greer and Stallcop also described the friendships made among Florida residents and other volunteers. Cave helped one woman who later brought her a sweet potato pie.

“When you have someone bring you a sweet potato pie, you know you’ve touched them,” Cave said. “It gave you a good feeling to know you went so far away to help people you didn’t know, and I think people there felt the same way.”

Added Stallcop, “I’d go back in a heartbeat because people need you. I can’t think of anything more important in life than to be of service to people who need you.”