The year was 2004, October 13 to be exact, and I was a new staff member joining the Emergency Services department near the end of hurricane season. Employees and volunteers were returning from responding to the four hurricanes in Florida (Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne) and sharing stories of destruction, hope, help and recovery. The thought of being able to help those during their time of need was exciting, and I found myself wondering when it would be my turn. 

 

Everyone kept saying disasters didn’t happen in St. Louis very often and the greatest chance for deployment would be during hurricane season. Wanting to know more, I went to work learning about the length of the season, storm names, wind speeds, and the Saffir-Simpson scale used to categorize the strength of hurricanes. Forecasters predicted a busier than normal season, but being residents of the Show-Me State, several of us wanted proof.

 

Fast forward to August 2005. Seven named storms had formed and the heart of hurricane season was quickly approaching. Around the 24^th reports were coming in about a new storm named Katrina which formed over Bermuda and made an initial landfall in south Florida causing minimal damage. As Katrina changed course and entered the Gulf of Mexico, she strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane and headed toward the Louisiana coast. Residents were encouraged to evacuate in order to avoid the storm and its potentially disastrous effects.

 

A few days before Katrina made landfall for the second time, families from the Gulf Coast began arriving in St. Louis to take shelter with friends and family. Many stopped by our offices to ask for assistance with a variety of needs including cots, blankets and toiletry supplies. This took us by surprise because evacuees had never come this far north. The decision was made to open a few cases and help in whatever way we could. 

 

The day after Katrina made landfall was a turning point for everyone involved. In an early morning meeting that Monday we knew we were about to get busy, but nobody knew for certain what exactly was about to happen. Within hours of opening our doors, the clients began arriving. Makeshift casework stations were set up in Classrooms 1-3, Classroom 4 was established as a waiting room, conference rooms became interview areas for health and mental health services, and the line of people snaked from the classrooms back to the lobby.

 

In addition to the arrival of evacuees was a surge of volunteer interest. Within the next few weeks over 4,000 people applied online and in person, wanting to help in any way possible. At that time, it was my job to interview each new applicant interested in Emergency Services and help them find the right volunteer opportunity. The stacks of applications kept coming over from Volunteer Resources with no apparent end in sight. Many people I spoke with had friends or family in the affected area and wanted to volunteer in hopes to travel to the Gulf Coast and check on them personally. A total of 449 individuals attended the orientations and became registered volunteers with the potential to serve during this and future disasters.

 

Because of the influx of evacuees to the St. Louis area - over 5,000 by December - only about a dozen of our employees and volunteers were deployed to the Gulf Coast to assist in the relief efforts. Fortunately, even 9 of our newest volunteers had the opportunity to deploy after successfully completing basic training and a brief deployment orientation.

 

Even with the new cadre of volunteers, we seemed to always need more hands on deck. A few weeks into the response our team got word that evacuees being sheltered in New Orleans and Houston would soon be boarding planes and traveling to a variety of cities to relieve the strain of the mega shelters that had been opened. On a yet to be determined date, 2,000 evacuees were to arrive in St. Louis and we needed to be prepared.

 

Here in St. Louis, caseworkers relocated their operations to one of the empty office spaces behind our Chapter headquarters allowing classrooms and conference rooms to return to their original state as we continued to service clients as best we could. Days turned into weeks, which grew into months and everything seemed to blend together. By the beginning of December we were able to wrap up our service delivery and focus on the duties that had been set aside so many months ago. 

 

Even though I wasn’t deployed, it was one of the best disaster experiences I’ve ever had because it gave me the opportunity to learn more about my job and my abilities. While many of the details have faded over the years, one thing is certain. It gives me great pleasure to be a part of such a wonderful team of employees and volunteers who give so selflessly of their time and energy to help others. Today, 5 years after the storm, 41 of those original 449 new volunteers are still with us on a regular basis, doing what they can for those in need. Thank you, everyone, for everything you do. It’s an honor to serve with you!

 

Stephanie