As Hurricane Matthew continues to head North from Florida to the Carolinas, The Lubbock Red Cross said they are coordinating with the region to take action and help victims. Lubbock’s Red Cross senior disaster program manager said they have their emergency response vehicle loaded and ready to go if need be.
“We operate regionally and in our North Texas region we have deployed two E-R-V’s,” said Cummins. “They’ll be leaving from Texarkana and Whichita Falls for Orlando later today.”
Cummins said they estimate that nearly 27,000 people have had to be sheltered throughout the four states that the hurricane has affected. The vehicles will be stocked with meals and bulked goods that the volunteers will distribute to the family. Although, they hope to provide the victims with more than just food.
“We also send folks that are from mental health because people lose medications, eye glasses and things like that,” said Cummins. “You know people, heaven forbid they lose a loved one and they need mental health assistance or someone to talk to.”
Relying strongly on volunteers, Cummins said that currently the region still has workers that are stationed in Louisiana, helping families continue to recover following the heavy floods that hit the state just weeks ago. Disaster volunteers are usually deployed from 2-3 weeks, and take shifts.
“We had a case worker that just came back from there,” said Cummins. “We have an Abiline ERV there, and our transportation director for the region is still there so we have folks out there doing work.”
If you’re looking to volunteer, you can call Red Cross at: #806-735-8534