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FAQs
I would like to offer my home to victims of the recent hurricane. What can I do?
Many generous Rhode Islanders are offering to open their homes to evacuees of Hurricane Katrina.
We are currently awaiting guidance from local and national officials as preparations are underway across the country to move into the next phase of the response. Please continue to check this website as updates will be posted here when they become available.
I am ready to deploy to the Gulf Coast to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina, but I have never been trained by the Red
Cross. What can I do?
The first step is to fill out a volunteer application, available in our office and soon on our
website. Then we will process the application, including a basic background check, and contact you to let you know the next available training. Trainings are being scheduled nearly every day in different parts
of the state. Upon completing the training, you should be ready to deploy within 48 hours, depending on your availability. Volunteers must be healthy adults able to lift 50 pounds. Those with breathing
or other health problems should consult their physicians before volunteering. The minimum deployment is 15 days.
Special Note: Doctors or Licensed Nurses who want to volunteer should call Lori Tucker at 615-9158. She is the state coordinator for the Medical Reserve.
I would like to do a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina relief. What can I do?
If you will need canisters to collect donations, please stop by our Chapter Headquarters on 105 Gano Street in Providence. You will need to fill out a
simple form and sign for the canisters saying that you are only raising money for this disaster and will return the canisters to us within 5 days of your fundraiser.
I have some extra time and want to help out here in Rhode Island. What can I do?
Please stop by our office or download the
volunteer application on our website. Please include your specific availability and interests in the upcoming days.
I haven't heard from a loved one. How can I reach them to find out if they are safe?
In the first 48 hours it was operational, more than 75,000 people are looking for loved ones registered in our new "Family Linking Registry." Please
direct inquires to 1-877-LOVED-1S (877-568-3317) or through the
Family News Network link. The more people who go online or call to register, the more families we can reconnect.
We can only process individual cases through our office which involve a potential medical or mental health emergency of a family
member in the disaster-affected area.
Please note that if the person has any one of the following conditions We can take your name and phone number through an e-mail
to [email protected].
- Insulin-dependent diabetic
- Oxygen-dependent
- On dialysis
- Blind, seeing-impaired
- Recent heart attack or stroke
- In a wheelchair
- Broken leg/foot/ankle
- Bedridden, paralyzed
If not, please know that our primary concerns at this time are to ensure the safety of all the people affected by the disaster by
providing food and shelter and by reuniting separated family members within the affected area.
However, due to outages in service or overload of telephone circuits and evacuations in the area, it is difficult for us to reach
individuals. We have the same problems with communications as the general public. As soon as phones and the internet are up and working, American Red Cross workers within the disaster area will be urging those
individuals within the area to notify their relatives of their own personal well being. Please try to make contact with them yourself periodically.
You can try the following options:
- Place calls during off-peak hours, after 10pm and throughout the night, when phone alls are more likely to get through.
- Try sending an email to the sought person.
- Think of other friends or relatives that the sought person may have contacted first and call or email them.
- Try other phone numbers for the neighbors, employer, co-workers, school, or place of worship of the sought person.
- Ask the caller if he/she knows of other places where the sought person may go routinely and be well-known.
- Monitor the news media for information about the restoration of phone lines.
- Send a letter to the sought person, enclosing a self-addressed, stamped envelope to be returned to the caller.
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