Well, first of all, I'm proud to say that I actually woke up at 6:00 a.m. this morning to make the 8 a.m. training for call center operators at the Red Cross. The training took two hours and then we went right on the phones. I was not actually scheduled for a shift and there were more volunteers than there were workstations (which is good). I stayed, though, and paired up with the young lady who sat next to me during training. She actually took the calls but we worked together to complete them.
Most of the calls are coming from people who are looking for relatives and friends. That's called a WI or Welfare Inquiry in Red Cross lingo (there's lots of acronyms to learn!) The problem is the Red Cross does not have that information at this time, because there are still so many areas they can't get to. Here's an excerpt from a press release that was issued today:
The Red Cross has the same problems with communication as the general public. We heed all directions from public officials, and do not enter areas until they are deemed safe. The Red Cross does not have information on the well being of any individuals. Our phone lines are being overwhelmed with calls, and we appreciate the desire to know how people fared during the storm. Medical and government officials will contact families in serious cases if necessary. The best way to help the Red Cross assist those affected by the storm is to remain patient and help us keep our phone lines open for emergencies only.
Also, we got calls from people who want to volunteer. Red Cross disaster action teams have to go through intensive training at the local level before they can be dispatched to the disaster area. The best thing to do is to go onto redcross.org and find the phone number for a Red Cross chapter in your city. They are goiong to need help down south for what's now starting to look like years, not weeks or months.
If you want to do something closer to home, check with your local chapter and see if they have a call center where you can volunteer or if there's any clerical support you can offer to help out remotely.
Tomorrow I'll be working a 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. shift and will report back in.
aus
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