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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah agencies are sending more volunteers to help families in storm-ravaged areas in New Jersey and New York. These new volunteers are specially trained to deal with situations that can easily be overlooked in a disaster.
"The people experiencing the disaster have tremendous loss," said Red Cross social worker Olivia Moreton, "and (wondering) how to rebuild their lives."
Moreton is among 10 additional Utah volunteers headed to New York and New Jersey this week to help families cope with traumatic loss.
Superstorm Sandy hit New York and New Jersey the hardest. In the midst of flooded homes, power outages and search for temporary shelter in these ravaged areas, Moreton says people tend to forget that people need more than the basic necessities.
She and other social workers ask questions like, "Is the parent able to cope at all? Do we need to have somebody else come and spend more time with their children while we spend time with the parent to help them get stable enough that they can parent again?
As families are sheltered in different areas of New Jersey and New York, their pets are also receiving temporary shelter. A two-man, FEMA-trained crew from Utah's Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is assessing the needs in those areas.
"It's very high-level training," explained Temma Martin, spokeswoman for Best Friends. "It's to deal with how to gain an animal's trust, how to deal with an animal in a very stressful situation."
Since since Hurricane Katrina, Martin said federal officials now allow owners to evacuate with their pets so that they don't have to leave them behind.
Now crews are mainly scouring the hard-hit areas in the Northeast, assessing where and how to help residents find temporary housing for their pets "in terms of supplies or manpower, or if they need any training or any support we can provide," Martin said.
The American Red Cross said sending their volunteers will mean leaving Utahns low on specialized care if there should be an emergency situation. The organization is asking for more volunteers to help fill the void. If you're interested, contact the Red Cross on its website, utahredcross.org, or by calling 801-323-7000.
As for the electricity situation in New York and New Jersey, the U.S. Department of Energy said nearly 500,000 residents were still without electricity in New York Monday, and roughly 800,000 New Jersey residents were still in the dark.
Sixteen linemen from Rocky Mountain Power are working to put poles in the ground and hang wire to bring power back to these storm-ravaged areas.
