DANIEL TYLER GOODEN / L’Observateur / March 8, 2000

CONVENT – Sparkling in the sun, a new ambulance bearing the symbol of the American Red Cross sat parked in front of the St. James Courthouse.Bearing a plaque and a Red Cross flag, it came to present awards to the parish in honor of American Red Cross month.

Julie Richman and Elisa Moore, AmeriCorp Rapid Response personnel, and Ella Lee, a Delta Service Corp. representative, gave the award to ParishPresident Dale Hymel Jr. and served snacks and lemonade to those at thecourthouse.

Richman and Moore, along with three other Red Cross volunteers, are on call to provide assistance and disaster relief for the parishes surrounding Baton Rouge. Lee, as a Delta representative, provides disaster education in thesame areas.

“We did a puppet show for first- and second-graders about flooding,” said Lee. Some children don’t know what hurricanes or tornados are, so Leeteaches not only what to do in a disaster but what potential disasters may occur and how to prepare for them.

“Disasters happen quickly,” and people are safer if they are prepared and know what to do, said Lee. Lee rides across the area not just visitingschools, but everyone.

“We go to churches, old folks homes, preschools, anywhere we can for all ages,” she said.

The Baton Rouge facility is looking to educate 12,500 children in 11 months and is halfway to achieving that goal, said Lee.

Richman and Moore serve the community by being on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They service families of house fires and other disastersas well as any major disasters in the area. Last month they assisted lawenforcement officials in Baton Rouge by providing food supplies during a lengthy hostage situation.

In the case of house fires the fire department usually calls, said Richman.

Red Cross personnel arrive during the fire to begin immediate assistance to the families. They donate supplies, give a $100 clothing voucher and, amongother things, give the family three weeks worth of food.

The Red Cross is run by federal funding as well as private and corporate donations. They take anything: clothes, raincoats, office supplies, teddybears, food, eyeglasses, even motor oil. The organization is always lookingfor more donations.

The ladies work for Red Cross through AmeriCorp and Delta. They areminimally paid for their work. They are given a monthly stipend, but itmatches the current poverty level.

“You have to help the people on the poverty level, so you live on the poverty level,” said Lee. This helps them to relate and understand the people theyassist.

The money is hardly the concern for the ladies. Lee, from Maryland, movedto Louisiana after her husband was discharged from the Navy. In Septembershe joined Delta and the Red Cross in order to instruct the children of the area.

“I am all about educating children,” said Lee. “Delta is an organization ofgetting positive thing done all across America.” It is an organization ofteamwork. Though they work in the community in all different aspects, “wecome together with the same vision and get things done through Delta,” Lee said.

Richman joined the Red Cross through AmeriCorp for the same reasons.

After graduating from the University of Oregon in biochemistry and international studies, “I wanted to see how people organize big relief operations and wanted to help people in disasters,” she said.

Looking for a year of hands-on study before graduate school, Richman joined AmeriCorp in order to work for the Red Cross.

“I felt like this would get me out of the lab to work with a lot of people,” said Richman.

Moore, a graduate in political science from Rice University in Houston, Texas, joined for the same reasons.

“I was working in D.C. and wanted to do more hands on work and find out howrelief organizations work,” said Moore. “What I want out of my work is to beable to work myself out of a job; to leave the organization better than I found it.”Both Richman and Moore have seen their share of heartaches in their work.

“One family had just gotten out of debt and told their kids that they could expect a normal life and stability,” said Moore. They were getting insurancefor the home they had built by hand when the house caught fire. “That wasthe most heart-wrenching time,” said Moore. She kept up with them for thenext two weeks.

“They were very wonderful to work with, very resilient people,” she added.

In another fire, Richman said friends and family had gathered to support the family. “One cousin said that ‘if you had just eaten at Church’s Chickeninstead of taking it home none of this would have happened,” Richman said.

The family all laughed at the joke, “finding a way to cope with the disaster.”One father approached the ladies and told them that “we didn’t really need the help, but the idea that you came out to assist us really touched us,” he said. “That really meant a lot to us,” said Lee.”What we’ve all learned is that the cases most difficult is where there is no friends and family to support them,” said Richman. “The Red Cross can’treplace friends and family. That is the kind of support that is reallyimportant. Everyone working here has said that at one time,” she added.Richman stressed the importance of having help from the community for disasters. The relief effort “runs smoother when there already has been astructure set up. Connections between people is what really will make thedifference,” she said.

The Red Cross is always looking for donations and volunteers. In St. JamesParish citizens can call Ella Lee at 225-291-4533 in order to donate supplies, volunteer or request the Red Cross visit their community. In St. John and St.Charles parishes, citizens should contact Kellee Echeverria at 504-587- 1500.

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