The Nov. 4 Pompa Vidals townhouse displaced seven families who are still trying to rebuild their lives.
Ottawa County Red Cross volunteer Rudy Bieber coordinates help for victims. “We assisted them with their immediate needs,” she said. “Whenever anyone’s displaced, you want to keep them as close to their school or their work as possible, so that life can remain as normal as possible.”
While donations of furniture and clothing have helped, Bieber said, “right now, mainly, housing is what they’re looking at.”
The Red Cross helps disaster victims by helping them with immediate temporary needs, connnecting them to other service agencies such as Community Action House and Salvation Army, and in creating a roadmap for recovery.
“Sometimes a few people will come foreward and they’ll say, ‘Hey, I don’t know if they need it, but I have a house that I’m renting,” Bieber said. “There’s a good community here. All over Ottawa County is just really a giving community.”
The all-volunteer Ottawa County Red Cross office at 270 James St. is generally open from 9 a.m. to noon on weekdays or people can call (616) 396-6545 to learn more about volunteering.
— Peg McNichol
