Lisa Orth still remembers the biggest lesson from her Red Cross training as a mental health volunteer.
"They always say you have to be flexible," she said. "You have to think outside the box."
On Dec. 2, heavy rains caused the Nehalem River to flood Lisa's hometown of Vernonia, Ore. She soon found herself taking charge of Red Cross shelter operations in the town.
As the waters rose, Lisa and her husband, Mike, and son, Brandon, established three shelter locations — one at a basketball camp and two at schools. Eventually, she consolidated them into a single shelter at the camp.
"I've got everything we need here," she said. "We've got showers and bedding, and we can cook here, too."
On the first night of flooding, the three shelters served 200 people. A week later, the single shelter at the camp was still averaging "40 to 60 people per night," Lisa said.
Staying on Duty
Lisa took charge of organizing the shelters and distributing supplies. Her husband coordinated transportation and assumed the role of night watchman. Brandon, 14, shuttled meals from the kitchen to elderly clients in the camp's cabins.
As situations arose, Lisa began using the flexibility she'd learned during training. For example, she set up places in the shelter to take care of family pets.
"How you should do it and how it happens are two different things," she said. "It was 20 degrees this morning. People aren't going to be able to stay in their homes because it's so cold. If I don't allow people to bring their animals to the shelter, they're going to go back home and stay with them in unhealthy conditions."
Invaluable as her Red Cross training has proved, it didn't teach her how to stay on duty for seven consecutive 16-hour days. Necessity did.
"Stay standing," she said. "That's the key. If you sit down and get comfortable, that's when it hits you."
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Northwest floods, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
Contact Info: If you're interested in interviewing Lisa Orth or any other American Red Cross volunteer, please contact Public Affairs at 503-969-7474.
.gif)
