ARKANSAS, USA — An army of volunteers from the American Red Cross have been on the ground in Northeast Arkansas in the aftermath of the Dec. 10th deadly tornadoes that devastated the region. The group’s Arkansas leader, Lori Arnold, executive director for the American Red Cross Serving Greater Arkansas, says the needs are varied for those impacted.
“We’ve got people who’ve had some damage to their houses and then people whose homes are completely destroyed. So not only were we helping with sheltering, feeding, all those immediate emergency supplies and needs, but we’ve been helping them with the things that maybe aren’t so obvious to someone who this hasn’t happened to,” Arnold said. “For instance, we have health care workers who are out there who are helping replace medication that’s been lost, medical equipment that’s been lost. We have volunteers who are licensed emotional support caregivers, and we’ve got spiritual care out on the ground too.”
After an initial assessment phase of the damage, Arnold’s team has been coordinating with nonprofits and governmental officials to deploy much-needed help. The volunteers assembled by the Red Cross come from “every walk of faith, every age group” and are trained in a multitude of disaster relief protocols.
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