Hello, my name is Khoa Nguyen, and I am a second year
AmeriCorps member serving with Together We Prepare – an AmeriCorps program that
positions its members with American Red Cross chapters throughout the state of Michigan.
Members divide their program time between volunteer services and disaster
services. During a normal day, I serve as the Volunteer & Youth Services
Coordinator to recruit, orient, and train adult and youth volunteers to serve
in different American Red Cross departments such as disaster services,
transportation, fund development, and health and safety. In addition to my role
in volunteer services, I am responsible for allocating my time to teaching
preparedness education classes in the Greater Grand Rapids school system and
carrying out disaster relief efforts when needed. The latter experience is one
of the most rewarding and meaningful elements of my program.
The disaster response experience embraces traits of humanity
and empathy. The most commonly occurring disaster in West Michigan is home
fires, especially during the winter months. An anecdote of a recent response
occurred during the early morning hours of April 14, 2012, when a fire forced
residents from 24 apartment units at Boulder Ridge apartments in Wyoming, Mich.,
to evacuate from their home. I was one of 22 Red Cross Disaster Action Team
members called upon to assist the victims. As part of the response effort, I
drove the Emergency Response Vehicle, a moderately sized truck loaded with
comfort kits, blankets, snacks, and stuffed animals, to the scene of the fire.
Upon arrival, I witnessed damp roofing and charred furniture on the lawn.
Groups of families huddled outside the apartment complex waiting for confirmation
from the Fire Department to see if it was safe for them to enter their
apartments to salvage any valuable possessions. Fortunately, there were no
reports of injuries, but how would these individuals move on from this
disaster?
The goal of the American Red Cross is to provide the most
immediate recovery needs following a disaster. As a result, Disaster Team
Members divided into pairs and began interviewing the apartment residents
affected by the fire. Critical information obtained during the interview includes
identification of family members, statements of how the disaster affected the
family, degree of damage from an assessment, and medical information if
appropriate. Afterwards, the Red Cross formulates a recovery plan for the
families. A recovery plan may consist of providing temporary housing, allotting
funds on a credit card for food and clothing, writing referrals to other
agencies, or a combination of all three actions. Additionally, the Red Cross
provided families with directions to obtaining a fire report, removing the
smell of smoke out of their belongings, and contacting their insurance agencies
if applicable.
Though this occurrence was one of my own disaster response impact
experiences, other AmeriCorps members in the Together We Prepare program have participated
in numerous other disaster relief efforts and have many stories of their own
impact. Members have confronted other types of disasters such as winter storms,
floods, and tornadoes. Although they are Michigan’s AmeriCorps members, many
members have been sent throughout the country when a large-scale disaster
occurs in another state. As Together We Prepare program members, I have been
continually awed by their ambitions and amazed by their accomplishments,
knowing that we are in fact making a difference.
