My neighbors house recenly was destroyed in a fire. An insense fell behind one of the beds and started the fire. There were 6 people, 2 dogs, and one cat in the house at the time. The fire started just after midnight. After 20 minutes of waiting, the fire department showed up and about 40 minutes later the fire was out. The top floor was completey destroyed, nothing remained. The bottom floor was not really burned, but the water damage from the hoses destroyed everything downstairs.
The fire department took everything from the downstairs (couch, chairs, etc) and put them on the front lawn of the house to prevent further damage and then left. (It rained all night)
Now I know the title says "The Red Cross Blows" and I'm getting to that. I just wanted to give some background on this families over all experience.
This family has had many hardships over the last decade or so and they had just started to pull their lives together. They found this house and were buying it, and feeling pround to soon be home owners.
After the fire, I told them they could stay in my house until they figured out what to do.
One of the members of the household, has several health issues and is in a wheel chair. She is not part of the family, but they have been friends for over 20 years and have always lived either together or very close. Anyway, the actual family consists of mother, father, and three sons. Their daughter is not at home anymore. Anyway, the fire department told them to call the Red Cross and that they would help them find a home, get food and clothing vouchers, and help them with the next steps toward getting back on their feet/s
The Red Cross came to my house the next morning. They told them to call someone else and handed out a bag with soap, tooth brush, and a wash cloth. The famliy does not have transportation and getting into the nearest town is not an easy task. The Red Cross said they could not help them get to their appointments with the other social organization they were sent to. They took a lot of information and then said good bye. In other words, they did nothing to help this family. The Red Cross gave them phone numbers the family already had.
Where do all of the donations go to? If I had not been there to provide shelter, they would have remained outside with all of their possesions in the rain. Two of the boys ran out of the house without shoes and in PJ's.
I really don't get it. Can someone please tell me what the Red Cross really does. I had already given the family soap, tooth brushes, and wash clothes. So basically, the Red Cross did nothing. Why?
This rant may be out of place but I was looking at the ribbons here at NP and saw one for the Red Cross and got pissed all over again.
To top it all off, the media said it was started by a cigarette, even though that was incorrect, and that there were only four people in the house and it suffered only minor damage. Complete garbage...
:td: :red:
Ok..I'm done with my diatribe
The fire department took everything from the downstairs (couch, chairs, etc) and put them on the front lawn of the house to prevent further damage and then left. (It rained all night)
Now I know the title says "The Red Cross Blows" and I'm getting to that. I just wanted to give some background on this families over all experience.
This family has had many hardships over the last decade or so and they had just started to pull their lives together. They found this house and were buying it, and feeling pround to soon be home owners.
After the fire, I told them they could stay in my house until they figured out what to do.
One of the members of the household, has several health issues and is in a wheel chair. She is not part of the family, but they have been friends for over 20 years and have always lived either together or very close. Anyway, the actual family consists of mother, father, and three sons. Their daughter is not at home anymore. Anyway, the fire department told them to call the Red Cross and that they would help them find a home, get food and clothing vouchers, and help them with the next steps toward getting back on their feet/s
The Red Cross came to my house the next morning. They told them to call someone else and handed out a bag with soap, tooth brush, and a wash cloth. The famliy does not have transportation and getting into the nearest town is not an easy task. The Red Cross said they could not help them get to their appointments with the other social organization they were sent to. They took a lot of information and then said good bye. In other words, they did nothing to help this family. The Red Cross gave them phone numbers the family already had.
Where do all of the donations go to? If I had not been there to provide shelter, they would have remained outside with all of their possesions in the rain. Two of the boys ran out of the house without shoes and in PJ's.
I really don't get it. Can someone please tell me what the Red Cross really does. I had already given the family soap, tooth brushes, and wash clothes. So basically, the Red Cross did nothing. Why?
This rant may be out of place but I was looking at the ribbons here at NP and saw one for the Red Cross and got pissed all over again.
To top it all off, the media said it was started by a cigarette, even though that was incorrect, and that there were only four people in the house and it suffered only minor damage. Complete garbage...
:td: :red:
Ok..I'm done with my diatribe
