American Red Cross offers tips to help Hurricane Helene survivors

By Jazmine Knight

As many families continue to recover from Hurricane Helene, it’s important for St. Joseph residents to know how they can help.

Angie Springs, spokesperson for the American Red Cross, says Hurricane Helene has left a massive wake of destruction leaving about 500 miles of impacted areas.

“Places that haven’t flooded for 100 years or weren’t ever impacted by a disaster are seeing the devastation,” said Springs.

In times of devastation, the Red Cross steps up immediately to provide supplies and a workforce of volunteers to help those in need.

“We were able to stand up shelters, work with our partners to provide safe places for individuals that were evacuating their homes,” she said.

The Red Cross is helping with cleanup and recovery efforts, suppling meals to families and offering mental health support. So far they have sent about a dozen volunteers from the Northwest Missouri and Greater Kansas City chapter, providing everything from rakes, shovels and buckets to a warm hug.

She says Hurricane Helene is probably worse than what’s shown in the media. Springs describes isolated communities with washed away roads and families in need.

While the Red Cross provides a helping hand to those in Florida and other surrounding communities, you can provide a helping hand to the Red Cross by donating blood.

Because of the hurricane, many blood drives have been canceled or people aren’t able to go.

However the need for blood doesn’t slow down just because there’s a disaster.

“Cancer patients are still fighting cancer. Trauma patients still need that lifesaving blood,” said Springs.

As fall continues, the Red Cross is trying to make up for the summer blood drive shortage.

“We typically are hosting blood drives at schools and universities. And when they are out for the summer, we of course, are not in those facilities hosting those blood drives,” she said.

Summer vacations are also a major factor when it comes to the decrease in blood drives. And even when we get into fall, blood donors are still limited due to the cold and flu season.

Springs encourage those well enough to schedule and appointment or find a local blood drive and donate.

“The only way that we’re going to ensure that our blood supply is solid and strong is by individuals rolling up their sleeves and donating,” she said. “you never know when that person that’s receiving that blood is going to be your family member, your loved one, your neighbor or potentially you.”

But the Red Cross isn’t just for major natural disasters, they also help those in our own backyard.

“Every single day right here in our own backyard. individuals lose everything that they owned to home fires,” said Springs. “It’s thanks to those that donate to the financial aid of the American Red Cross that allow us to be there to provide that support.”

To make a donation or to schedule an appointment to donate blood, you can either call the Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS or visit redcross.org. For those that are not able to donate financially or with blood, you can always sign up to volunteer.

“[Just] give a little bit of your time, to make a world of difference and those in need,” said Springs.

St. Joseph residents can also participate in a local blood drive taking place at Lafayette High School (LHS) this Tuesday, Oct 8. This blood drive is in honor and support of Jay Burns, an LHS student who recently underwent a heart transplant just earlier this year. The blood drive opens to the public at 2:45 p.m. and ends at 6 p.m. Guests can enter through door number 6.