Nine volunteers and staffers from the Mile High chapter of the American Red Cross are heading to help in the aftermath of the tornadoes that swept through the South.
Red Cross spokeswoman Patricia Billinger will fly to Georgia this morning from North Carolina, where she has been deployed since 60 tornadoes touched down in 20 counties in that state April 14.
Fluent in Spanish, Billinger will work in Ringgold, Ga., one of the hardest-hit areas in the state.
“Some people in the immigrant community are afraid to seek help,” she said by cellphone from Raleigh, N.C. “They don’t understand that the Red Cross is not asking for their immigration status. They don’t know that we’re not part of the government, not asking to see papers.”
Information-technology worker Eric Wood is headed to Tuscaloosa, Ala., where several dozen people were killed and the town was left without power.
At least one satellite dish and many computers have already been shipped there from the Red Cross’ vast warehouse in Austin, Texas, said Wood, who will be setting up computers and Internet phones for people to use in order to connect with families and friends.
He did similar work in Galveston, Texas, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008.
“You see a lot of people who don’t know what to do, and a lot of them are in shock,” he said.
Three nurse volunteers, including Connie Hoffer of Littleton, and a mental-health worker will deploy to northern Mississippi.
Most of the injured people will have been treated by the time she arrives today, Hoffer said. Her work will be to help people replace their medications or medical equipment.
Hoffer, who has worked in such disasters as the 2010 flooding in Nashville, Tenn., said she has learned to be mentally prepared and to not get too caught up in emotions that could sap her effectiveness.
“I’m happy to offer help in getting their lives back to normal,” she said.
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com
