After Hurricane Ike hit the Gulf Coast, I volunteered to help at the American Red Cross national call center.  At the call center, I was in a position to help the truly desperate people, the ones who weren’t able to make it to a shelter, who didn't know how to find food, or who had nothing but the Red Cross 1-800-Get-Info phone number to try to survive. They were usually the ones in the hardest hit areas, where delivering food and supplies door-to-door was nearly impossible because of downed power lines, flood waters and debris blocking the streets. In most cases, I was able to direct people to nearby resources like FEMA Points Of Distribution for food and water, Red Cross shelters, Red Cross feeding sites or other governmental and community resources.  But there were some people who needed more. In my heart, these were the people I wanted to help the most. 

One of the most memorable calls happened the sixth day after Hurricane Ike hit. The call I received and the kindness of several Good Samaritans in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike inspired me to send an email about my experience to my family. Although we were able to help a great number of individuals, this is the one call that stands out, the one that made my husband cry when he read about her. This one letter home tells the story of my assignment at the call center, and is not unique to my experience.  Many lives were saved by workers at the call center, although we never met our clients.

I just received a call from a terrified, Spanish-speaking, blind, 70-year-old woman who was left behind with no food or water after Hurricane Ike. The woman has not eaten in five days and is desperate for help. She would not let me call Red Cross emergency services or other emergency responders for her, even though I was trying to get her food and water. Even if I was able to arrange a taxi to a shelter, she wouldn't go. She preferred to starve. Imagine being willing to die from lack of food and water rather than call the police or fire department for help. That's the definition of real fear. My own problems are so minimal compared to that.

The woman wasn't even able to take advantage of the food and water in Red Cross vehicles because her blindness kept her from identifying help. And from what I gathered, outsiders looking in would not have known there was a person living in the home. Out of desperation, the woman called the American Red Cross call center. She told me that she waited and waited for help to arrive, but it never did. The bus system isn't running because of the storm, and she doesn't know how to navigate the streets because she always depended on the bus driver to stop at the street she requested. And even if she could get on a bus, the grocery stores are not open because of power outages and supply lines being interrupted.

I have spent the last few hours calling every available resource for help. Meals-on-wheels isn’t operating because of damage and power outages, the few local grocery stores I found that had power wouldn't discuss delivery options. I tried six churches, but they were closed because of damage and power outages.

I promised this woman that I would find her food, but once I hung up the phone, I found that all of the resources were dried up.  I couldn't even get a pizza delivered to her. But I wasn't going to give up. I knew there had to be someone in Spring, TX who would give this woman food and water.

I contacted another church. The building had no power but I found a voice mail message that gave the home number of the pastor. When I called, the kind man took my word for who I was (a Red Cross Volunteer), and without hesitation went to gather his own provisions and change his clothes so that his yard work clothes wouldn't frighten her (then he realized the woman wouldn't be able to see him because of her blindness). I believe this woman would have died without this kind pastor’s intervention. He gave up his own resources to help this woman, a stranger, on the word of me, another stranger. I will always remember him.

Tiffany Borrine
Maplewood, MO
Proud Volunteer with the American Red Cross