Even the pandemic didn’t stop Red Cross disaster volunteers from serving their community
You never know what you’ll need to get through the worst day of your life. Maybe your home was just engulfed in flames, and you need a place to stay for the night. Or your house was flooded, and now you’re in desperate need of food and diapers for your child. Whatever disaster that just befell you could also be traumatic enough that you require on-site counseling from someone with the proper training.
Chances are good that on this particularly horrible day, one of the first people you encounter will be an American Red Cross disaster volunteer who has heard about your predicament and rushed to the scene to ensure you have whatever is immediately necessary to weather the storm. The organization’s Greater Pennsylvania Region branch, which encompasses 61 of the state’s 67 counties, has about 3,000 volunteers waiting to help at a moment’s notice.
The approximately 700 Red Cross disaster volunteers in Western Pennsylvania have spent the past yearplus of the COVID-19 pandemic responding to the many non-coronavirus-related emergencies that arise daily. And they continue to work around the difficulties presented by the pandemic and perform whatever task is most pressing, whether it’s responding to an apartment fire or manning the check-in booth at a local vaccination site.
“I’m not one to say, ‘Well, that’s not my job,’” said Paula Bauerle, a 66-year-old Red Cross disaster volunteer and deployment specialist. “If you need me there, I’ll be there. I adapt well to things. I try to put in the hours, and if they call, I try to go.”
Ms. Bauerle, of Thornburg, moved to the Pittsburgh area in 2014 from Arlington, Texas, and her generous spirit compelled her to quickly seek out the local Red Cross chapter. Now, she works about 35 hours a week with the Red Cross, including two 12-hour on-call shifts and her newly added duties with the vaccination clinic at the Castle Shannon Volunteer Fire Department.
When she says that she’ll do just about anything asked of her, she’s not kidding. Not only does she do general disaster relief and help coordinate nationwide and international deployments of other volunteers, but she’s also integral in the Red Cross’ sheltering efforts for folks who lose their homes. Oh, and she even has professional training in spiritual care — aka grief and trauma counseling — that recently came in handy while responding to a fire in Wilkinsburg.
“I just got into doing a lot of different things because I don’t do anything I don’t love,” she said. “And I love it all.”
Although she is too humble to brag about all her achievements, her supervisor and disaster program manager Carlos Carmona was more than happy to sing her praises. He mentioned
that she had participated in Red Cross deployments in Texas, Louisiana and California, where she provided her services during the height of wildfire season.
“She has the courage to leadfrom the heart,” Mr. Carmona said. “For her, it’s always
about doing the right thing.”
He said that since the pandemic was made official last year, the Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region has helped out about 1,500 people in 300 disasters; delivered more than 900,000 meals
through partnerships with the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank and 412 Food Rescue; and, as of late March, helped vaccinate more than 11,000 people at its Castle Shannon clinic alone.
He classified the pandemic as a “multidomain humanitarian crisis” and said the organization has been actively trying to innovate so it can still do what’s expected of it, including training new volunteers through digital means and normalizing the idea of connecting virtually with anyone who just experienced a crisis — though in-person care is still preferred whenever possible.
“The Red Cross is the organization that’s there when it happens,” he said. “The second it happens, we’re the first ones to give you a blanket and say you’re going to be OK. We have the ability to mobilize quicker and get on the ground faster.”
Patricia Waldinger, CEO of the Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region, said that most disaster volunteers “say they get more out of it than they’re giving,” which, unbeknownst to her,
Ms. Bauerle corroborated by almost repeating that phrase verbatim.
She applauded her fleet of volunteers for stepping up during the pandemic, particularly as the Red Cross pivoted to virtual pre- and postresponse services and prioritized aid missions such as giving iPads to Veterans Affairs hospitals, packing and delivering food, and running community blood drives at its building on Liberty Avenue in the Strip District.
“For Paula and our volunteers to constantly come back with a smile on their face and be that pillar of strength, you’re really in awe of how special they are,” Ms. Waldinger said.
It’s something she loves for Ms. Bauerle, who isn’t going to allow COVID-19 to stop her from taking care of individuals and families in this area and beyond when they need her the most.
“We don’t judge,” she said. “It doesn’t matter who you are. We’re just there to help everybody.”