#2 North County SD State of Emergency: 2-1-1 Disaster Response Team
I was evacuated from my office and it was just terrifying. I could see the flames in the rear-view mirror and traffic was NOT moving. I called the one I loved dearest to ensure their safety and couldn’t help but think of all the parents trying to get to their kids. It made my heart drop. I sat at home the first day glued to the TV mesmerized by terror.
I wanted to help. I kept hearing about 2-1-1, and after talks with my aptmate, we decided to take action.
The May fires were declared a State of Emergency. The month of May isn’t even fire season. With a total of ELEVEN fires in an off-fire season, there was a major need for quick disaster responders. Boy did SD come through with 800 volunteers to answer 33,000 calls! O_O. Yea, there was definitely a huge demand for help.
2-1-1 and its volunteers did an amazing job. I volunteered for the late night shift at 2-1-1’s call center the 3rd day of the fires. I did so because there was a need and I knew that people weren’t going to want to spend their bedtime at the call center. Yet, the staff and volunteers were so amazing, fun, kind-hearted folks! They were there just because they wanted to create a safe space for those that were in distress and needed valid information about the fires. The calls I got were disheartening. These people just wanted to be HOME.
Do I still have home? Is my cat that I couldn’t rescue because the roads were closed okay? What about my neighbors, are they alright?
Can you imagine the stress and anxiety? One lady I talked to escaped to Vegas.
“What can you do, might as well go somewhere else to get your mind off of what may or may not happen. Thanks for talking to me…”
I must reiterate, 2-1-1 is an amazing organization. They fed us well, kept us alert, but most of all, were very dedicated to providing confirmed information to the public and offer a safe place to people to voice their deepest concerns. The level of patience and teamwork in the office is something I’ve never seen before. I thought, this is EXACTLY what disaster response should look like. What a blessing to work with such a group. I am looking forward to see how I can help North County transition from recovery to rebuilding. The most beautiful thing I saw was
“Neighbors helping neighbors.”
Can’t beat that kind of love and dedication to serve one another.
I must say, I went flying just a few days after the fires and wow, it is amazing to see the great work the firefighters put in to save all those homes. You can see all the burnt brush and just in the middle of it all is a home…in pristine condition and untouched by flames. These firefighters saved thousands of what people called home, not to mention many lives.
So, the extra cool part of all this is that they produced a thank you email to all the volunteers and Amy was in it! Here is a quick peek.
Can you spot her? =P
They even created a thank you video and offered free Padres tickets.
2-1-1 San Diego Thanks Our Volunteers from 2-1-1 San Diego on Vimeo.
All this for something I sincerely wanted to do for the community. Love is like a cup that continues to be overfilled and spills everywhere. It gives and gives. And you know what? He always gives more. And then some more.