Saturday, August 23, 2008

Red Cross helping storm victims

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

Belen As Belen residents and city officials continue to clean up and bounce back from Sunday afternoon's hail storm, volunteers with the American Red Cross have been helping dozens of families get back on their feet.

After golf ball-sized hail wreaked havoc on windows, roofs, vehicles and trees in the Belen area, residents were literally left picking up the pieces. With glass companies in high demand this week and contractors giving estimates for roof repairs on numerous homes, the American Red Cross stepped in to offer help to those in need.

As of Friday, 70 families had sought help from the Red Cross, according to Scott Snyder, the director of emergency services for the Mid-Rio Grande Chapter. Volunteers began receiving phone calls for help early Monday, and after two days of going from house to house, the non-profit relief organization decided to start meeting with people at a centralized location — the Belen Recreation Center — on Wednesday.

"We're trying to help people who need assistance from us who may not have insurance or have any other resources," Snyder said.

Volunteers closed up shop on Friday, but will be available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23, at the recreation center. Snyder said he hopes that those who are in need of help and who haven't made it to the center this past week will be able to get there on Saturday.

Snyder said the average amount that the American Red Cross is able to help residents with is about $500 for each home. In all, Snyder said, the total amount could exceed more than $35,000.

With no definite plans to return next week, Snyder said volunteers might be back in the area within the next two weeks to meet with clients who have been able to obtain estimates for the damage at their homes.

Frank Day, one of the Red Cross volunteers who spent many hours meeting with clients and assessing the damage at dozens of homes, said most of the people who have been seeking help are making claims for broken windows.

"My particular job is damage assessment," Day said. "I've been going out and verifying the damage occurred as claimed, and I take pictures of it with the permission of the owner."

Day said the American Red Cross's first concern is with emergency assistance and helping people who have been affected by a disaster or a disaster situation, typically requiring housing, clothing, food and sometimes medical assistance. In a situation such as last weekend's storm and the damage it left behind, Day said the Red Cross could offer a limited amount of help.

"When they get an estimate, we answer that estimate as well as we can," Day said. "It depends on the estimate and on the amount of need. There are those who are in more of a need than others.

"We're here to help the people who need the help and to the extent that we can," he added. "It's a limited amount of help really — we can't buy them a new house."

Day explained that when a client comes to the American Red Cross for help, they will prepare a request for estimate and the client will take it to a local dealer or contractor. Once the estimate is completed, the client brings it back to the Red Cross and then may provide some assistance toward that estimate.

"Everything depends on various factors — the need, the amount of damage and the urgency of the repairs," Day added. "We'll be here as long as there is sufficient need."

Tommy Sanchez, the emergency manager for the City of Belen, said the roll-away dumpsters the city has provided for residents who need to get rid of debris from the storm are located at city hall and Anna Becker Park and will continue to be in place until Wednesday, Aug. 27.

He is also encouraging people who aren't able to take their debris to the dumpsters to place it in trash bags and set it out on the curb for pickup.

To contact the American Red Cross, Mid-Rio Grande Chapter, call 505-265-8514 or visit www.redcrossalbq.org.

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