Can we trust the Red Cross?

[vickitulsa]

This is a very important question right now, as so many people want to help their fellow Americans suffering from the impact of hurricane Katrina. My short answer to this question is YES, and I will explain why I say that with confidence.

I believe that thousands of us who are not affected by this catastrophic natural disaster in a *direct* way are developing PTSD symptoms not totally unlike those the victims themselves are experiencing. Why would this be?, you may well ask.

There are two conditions which are considered "pre-requisite" to a PTSD diagnosis for any trauma survivor. They are

1) witnessing an event wherein loss of life or serious injury (or illness or other harm) to onesself or someone else are imminent or actually occurring, and

2) being or feeling HELPLESS to do anything to prevent the harm or to rescue or help those harmed -- again, whether it's someone else or onesself.

I'm just setting down these two defining factors from my knowledge of this "disorder" called PTSD, but I think I've got it real close if not precisely worded as in the DSM-IV (or whichever version of that psych industry "code book" is the latest one). And yes, I was diagnosed with PTSD about five years ago after a lifetime of enduring its debilitating symptoms.

*** So the core issues of PTSD are survival of traumatic events and experiencing a profound sense of *helplessness* to prevent serious harm to yourself or others you care about. ***

Usually professionals in the field of psychology and psychiatry associate an element of especially intense horror and fear with the injury or other severe harm to person(s). This is significant because it is often the factor which ensures that PTSD symptoms develop due to a poorly understood sort of "imprinting" on the human brain that such horror or fear causes.

Okay, so now let me take a little more time to explain why I know personally that the American Red Cross can be trusted to really HELP people affected by the natural disaster called Katrina and the aftermath which is hurting so many more people.

In 1993 my house burned to the ground. My then-husband David and I lost almost everything we owned in this world in the fire, including a dearly loved puppy of mine named Domino.

I won't go into the details because this post will be long enough as it is. But losing Domino was the hardest thing about the entire event, I can say that without hesitation. In fact, due to my heartache at losing Dommie, I didn't even feel great upset at losing all our possessions until about an hour after the home we had lived in was ashes and melted lumps of ... "stuff."

I did break down in sobs at that point, however, saying only, "Where will we LIVE?" to some neighbors who had come over to see what was happening as the house burned.

Well, we found a place to live as soon as our friends were made aware of our plight -- which was that same morning. One old and dear pal named Luke happened to have bought a "fixer-upper" house next door to the rental where he was living, and he had not yet moved into it because it needed work. My husband Dave (now an ex) had carpentry and remodeling skills, as did I to a lesser extent; so Luke let us stay in his newly acquired home for as long as we needed if we would only do some work on it. Not everyone knows someone who will do this for them, so we considered ourselves VERY fortunate.

But it was the Red Cross that really saved our sanity and provided the bulk of the help we received after our personal disaster. Even though the house burned on Christmas Eve morning in the middle of winter, when our garden hose was useless for us to fight the fire because the water in it as it lay on the ground had frozen, and even though the fire occurred at six a.m., a Red Cross worker appeared in our yard before we left the scene that morning and gave us instructions on where to go to get a relief check IMMEDIATELY.

Like so many in the Katrina disaster, we survived with only the clothing on our backs -- except that we had a car that was okay since it wasn't parked very close to the house. So we were able to drive in to Tulsa (we had lived in the country) to the Red Cross headquarters there. (If we had not had transportation, the Red Cross would have provided it right then, and the RC worker could have written us an initial check on the spot as well, she told us.)

Within 30 minutes of our arrival at the RC office, we were interviewed and given a check for $400 which we could spend in almost any store. This amount in what was essentially "cash" was primarily intended for clothing and other personal essentials such as soap and shampoo. Dave and I went from the Red Cross office straight to WalMart and shopped for about an hour, spending the entire amount to get what we would need in the coming days as we tried to start over in our "post-fire" lives.

It was a strange feeling, I can tell you that! The clothes we had on still smelled of smoke and had some soot on them from our efforts to fight the fire ourselves, as well as having been soaked from the water used for that. Our clothes had dried, but we looked a MESS -- and felt even worse. Quite a few people in the store stared at us, but we didn't care in the state of shock and exhaustion we were in.

And being able to GET THOSE CLOTHES and personal hygiene items was the MOST heartening thing that could have happened to us immediately after the fire -- I can't emphasize that enough! The Red Cross workers understand this, and they step in to OFFER even before you ASK for what needs you have. To so many people who are clinging to their sense of personal worth by a bare thread after a disaster, this understanding is SOOOO IMPORTANT!!

Also the Red Cross cut what they call vouchers for several other things, and for the most part they counted on our own word (and their own observations of us plus the report of their field worker) that we had no other resources, after asking only a few questions about our financial situation. Very importantly as well, the RC gave us a voucher to stay for three days and nights in a local motel of our own choice, within a reasonable price range. THAT was critical, too, because that feeling of knowing you can never again go "home" -- that your home is GONE -- is just devastating in the extreme.

So being able to get not just a new set of clothes but a substantial AMOUNT of clothing to last for awhile, as well as knowing you have a place to stay for at least the next three days, were the most significant ways the Red Cross helped us, and they provided that assistance IMMEDIATELY -- before we even had time to THINK what all we would need. THEY KNOW already, and they were there for us SO FAST! That speed of service makes a WORLD of difference, believe me.

We also received vouchers with which we could buy some furniture and appliance items, the essential ones, when the Red Cross learned that a friend was providing a dwelling for us to live in for the next few months. We picked out a new bed and fridge at one store, and then we got a used dinette set and other household items at a Salvation Army thrift shop.

What the Red Cross does, as you can tell from my personal story, is to determine exactly what YOU need in YOUR particular set of circumstances. They don't waste money; they find out precisely what your needs are and then meet them for the immediate future. Their goal is to provide the essential things anyone needs to get back on their feet and begin all over again. As so many homeless people know, ya can't very well do that if you don't even have clothes or a place to stay!

I have sung the praises of the Red Cross ever since. It may be "needless to say," but I am saying it here at DU because I want others who have no personal experience with the Red Cross organization to understand how it works and that they can trust the RC not to waste their money or make victims jump through hoops or wait a long time for the help they provide.

This post is long enough so I will end it here, but I could go on for pages about all the help we received from other sources, including the Salvation Army and some friends and family members *and* their churches. The church of one stranger even helped us with a lot of donated household goods!

So I have much hope that, even though the Katrina disaster is of catastrophic proportions, the American Red Cross and other organizations, agencies, and "just regular folks" who want to help will be able to do wonders by way of offering genuine, physical and emotional help for those many many thousands who are being severely impacted by the events of the hurricane and its aftermath.

Thanks for listening, everyone! And if you give money to the Red Cross (and other organizations known to be reliable in such situations), your trust is well placed and your money will be wisely used! You can walk away after donating with a great feeling in your heart, KNOWING you really and truly HELPED someone who is suffering right now -- perhaps even one of those children whose faces touched you so when you saw them on television.

Sincerely,
~Vicki in Tulsa

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[babylonsister]

1. Go ask all the people in the Astrodome; their

lives are in the Red Cross's hands. I'd say yes, and yours is a nice vote of faith and confidence. :)

[DistressedAmerican]

2. Fanststic Post! Thank You! I Love The Red Cross!

Your story was very moving. I am so glad that you have strepped up in defense of the RC. At times like this there are a lot of questions about their operation. Most remember the financial misdealings that took place before Dole took over and cleaned house. It makes may weary about donating to this very day(the real tragedy of the misdealing).

The people that work for the Red Cross are humanitarians. We need more humanitarians! This world will die without them!

Bravo for you! It is great to hear some personal sotries. It actually gives me a bit more hope for those poor vicitims of Katrina/George Bush!

Thanks again. Kick and nomination.

Others should nominate this post as well!

[vickitulsa]

3. Thanks, DA, and Babylonsister too.

I know some people may have had not-so-positive experiences with the Red Cross and may not agree with my feeling about them. But that's why I wanted to tell my story in some detail, just to vouch for what they did for us.

I am so tired from the stress and worry about victims of Katrina (and W, as you pointed out and I agree), I'm functioning at less than optimum level by now. So I forgot something that's pretty important.

I didn't go back and specifically tie in the PTSD info I mentioned first, but here's the connection:

If you are feeling a lot of distress about the horrors you are witnessing on television and reading about in the print media, you could be experiencing some PTSD symptoms such as hypervigilance and general agitation, anger and grief, and many others, including an increasing inability to deal with daily events in your life as you usually do.

For many of us it may be that we simply care A LOT about those thousands of victims along the Gulf Coast region whose lives have been thrown into disarray and literally threatened with extinction due to the extreme dangers and life-or-death struggle afterward. One of the hardest aspects to deal with for us "witnesses" is that feeling of being unable to reach out and HELP fellow Americans. It has been shown that symptoms of PTSD are much less severe IF people can actually DO ANYTHING to exert even a small amount of CONTROL over the situation.

Donating to the Red Cross or any relief organization you trust to truly HELP those impacted RESTORES one's sense of control, even if in a small way. Small ways MATTER at a time like this! And THAT is the connection to PTSD problems that I had planned to make in my original post but neglected to make clear.

For the kids who have nothing to do all day now that they have no home and who are traumatized by the catastrophe they are going through, sometimes just having toys to play with goes a long way. Older children can really DO things to help, like assist their parents or other caregivers with tasks that are essential like making up their cot-beds in a shelter or running little errands.

For US, most Americans who are helplessly watching the suffering every day and night on our televisions and computers, donating money to relief orgs that will make a difference in shattered lives actually HELPS US to stave off the PTSD symptoms which could be affecting our own lives as well.

So it's good for the victims, and good for US, too! :thumbsup: :)

~VV

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[DistressedAmerican]

4. Glad You Brought That Back Around!

I have had some experience with PTSD after a rather violent robbery by 5 well armed guys that beat me senseless. I spent years fantasizing about how things could have been different. If Only scenarios played out in my brain for a very long time.

Could not watch a TV show or movie with gun violence for years with having a panic attack. Made the mistake of seeing Pulp Fiction in that state. It was the first time I freaked out like that. Happened several other times as well.

You are so very right about the causation. I was over powered and getting beaten. I fought them off for a short while until one of them clocked me in the head from hehind with his gun. That sent me to the ground dazed and they just beat the shit out of me. The helplessness of not even knowing who the fuck they were nearly made me crazy.

It is rerally good of you to be spreading this info so that people can deal a bit better. It is a service to all of us!