Flood Evacuees Take Shelter With the Red Cross |
| By: Kristin Claes, American Red Cross of Greater Chicago |
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September 14, 2008
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The Ortiz children read with a relief worker at a shelter over the weekend.
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Lilia stayed at a Red Cross shelter this weekend. She's lived in Albany Park for 25 years.
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Rain continued to fall Sunday afternoon outside the shelter for flood evacuees in North Park Village. More than 95 people displaced by the weekend's flooding across Chicagoland stayed at four shelters supported by the Red Cross. Inside, relief workers helped serve pizza to flood evacuees. “People at the shelter have been so kind, and so accommodating,” said Phyllis Caprio, who evacuated with her elderly sister and a neighbor. “We had to leave our kitty behind,” she said. “We hope she’s ok.”
Many of the people at the shelter had left their homes in Albany Park in the middle of the night—evacuating as flood waters rose. “We’ve been refugees before,” Phyllis said. She and her sister had fled Poland during World War II—but they never thought they would have to flee their home again.
Across the way in another part of the shelter, a family of five shared a different refugee story. They had just fled Iraq in June—a mother, father and three kids. Now this family from Baghdad was flooded out of their new home in Chicago, and they sat on cots and watched the rain. “We have no family here,” the father said. “No sister, no cousins. It is very bad.” Yet he smiled, and his children seemed happy and warm.
Most of these families never thought they would need help from the Red Cross. Lilia Gamble, a 25-year resident of Albany Park, evacuated with her husband at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning. “By then, our house was an island,” Lilia said. “All those years, I watched the Red Cross helping people on T.V, but I never thought I would be one of them. I gave after Katrina, but I never thought I’d need the Red Cross’s services.” Lilia runs a business out of her home, selling items on eBay. She’s eager to get home to check on her business, especially her storage space, and the home she’s built with her husband, Thomas.
At lunchtime on Sunday, Hugo Ortiz and his three small children ate pizza and read books in the shelter. His kids, ages 3, 4 and 6, chattered and kept busy: Byron grinned through little gaps in his new front teeth, and little Sharon bounced next to a Red Cross relief worker, pointing at photos on the page. Hugo was gentle and patient with his children, and explained how he and his wife had recently made extensive renovations to their home. When they evacuated, floodwaters filled their basement and reached the first floor. His youngest son, Brian, cried as the family left by boat. “I thought they left my brother behind,” Brian said. His father smiled, assuring his son that he never would have allowed that. “We’re all together,” he said.
Please Give to the Disaster Relief Fund
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster.
The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org. |
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