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Story and photos by Dave Knoer
American Red Cross
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa, June 21, 2008 – “The Red Cross
has been great. We are like a family,” is how Cedar
Falls resident Kati Renishaski describes her flood
shelter experience. “They have made me feel at home,
when I didn’t have one anymore”
The 30-year resident of the area lost everything when
flooding destroyed her home. “I was lucky to get out
alive. I only left with the clothes on my back,
barefoot,” she said.
Renishaski credits her cat, Tinker Pooh, for alerting
her to the disaster. “My cat was raising a stink; she is
the one that warned me as water was entering my home. I
should have listened to her sooner.” Renishaski said the
family was able to grab her cat as they left and it’s
been staying out on a farm. “She loves tormenting the
goats.”
Renishaski has been staying at the shelter on the campus
of Universtity of Northern Iowa since flood waters
overwhelmed her city. When the flooding was at its
worse, the shelter was temporary home to almost 150
local residents.
Mike Redlin, acting manager of the shelter, and his
volunteers worked hard to meet the needs of a diverse
population. For example, “We helped move special needs
clients to better facilities, where they could get the
care they needed. Being a part of that was very
rewarding.”
Nonetheless, Redlin was as shelter residents were able
to leave and on with their lives. “To watch the
residents move on, into new places has been amazing,”
Redlin said. “The residents are amazing. To watch them
move on is something else.”
Crystal Drew was moving on, at least in her plans. She
took shelter along her fiancé, mother, sister and
two-month-old son after flood waters destroyed both her
home and her mother’s. Now her focus is on making a new
home for her son and on making plans for her wedding,
which is set for two months away.
“I don’t know where we would be; the Red Cross saved our
life,” Drew said.
Redlin will never forget one resident who had suffered
through one disaster after another: “First they were
displaced by the tornado. Then, after moving into a new
home, they were flooded out and lost everything again,”
he said, awed by the Iowan’s resilience.
Red Cross shelter volunteer Faye St. Germain carved out
a special role on the shelter staff. “Call me grandma,”
she said. “I’m grandma to you all.” She brought a steady
supply of smiles, hugs and laughter to residents and
volunteers alike.
St. Germain knows how important that is in the wake of a
disaster. “Years ago I lost my home to a disaster. I
lost everything,” she recalled. “The Red Cross helped me
then. I took five years to rebuild my life and then
joined the Red Cross to give back to others.”
She has helped out with seven different disasters with
the Red Cross over the last year. “It’s what I do. I
have the time. I want to help.”
Despite the best efforts of volunteers like Redlin and
St. Germain, life in a shelter is no vacation.
“It has been difficult sometimes with the kids,” said
Heather Anger, mother of two-year-old Hailey and
three-year-old Alyssa Knock. “They want to run and play,
and it’s hard sometimes with the other residents.” Then
she smiled and added, “They’re just acting their age.”
“We pick on each other, joke with each other and have
fun,” Renishaski said. “I’m going to hate to leave.”
At the same time, she knew this – the good and the
challenging – would not last. “I’m going to have to
leave. We have to get on with our lives”
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and counsels
victims of disasters; provides nearly half of the
nation's blood supply; teaches lifesaving skills; and
supports military members and their families. The Red
Cross is a charitable organization – not a government
agency – and depends on volunteers and the generosity of
the American public to perform its humanitarian mission.
For more information, please visit
www.redcross.org or join our blog at
www.redcrosschat.org.
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