Every month, we feature a United Way Partner Agency’s client experience, demonstrating the impact that donations to United Way of Sheboygan County are making. This month’s client experience was submitted by Steve Hansen, chapter executive of American Red Cross in Northeast Wisconsin. Here’s their story.

At approximately 4:30 am on a Sunday morning in 2016, a fire broke out at a 40-unit, lower-income apartment complex in Sheboygan. Sadly, one fatality occurred, and all 40 units were destroyed. The Sheboygan Fire Department contacted the Red Cross, and our Disaster Action Team was quickly on-scene.

The Red Cross provided 61 survivors with assistance including shelter, food, health and mental health services, direct financial aid, supplies, and client casework. We opened a shelter at Farnsworth Elementary School, which had a total of 50 clients and 106 overnight stays. We served 592 meals and 609 snacks.

Dealing with the aftermath of a disaster is emotionally taxing. Red Cross Disaster Mental Health volunteers, our trained and independently licensed professionals, provided psychological first aid and counseling to clients in need of care after this incident.

The Red Cross also activated our Integrated Care Condolence Team (ICCT). Red Cross ICCTs assist families whose loved ones are missing, injured or deceased. In many circumstances, numerous agencies and organizations converge to provide services for survivors. Families that have lost a family member may feel intruded upon if care is not taken to approach them with respect for their privacy and consideration of their possibly fragile emotional state. A Red Cross ICCT can offer specialized care and an array of services in a minimal number of contacts by a small group of responders.

The Red Cross coordinated a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) at the shelter to help the families recover. We invited government and non-profit agencies to come together under one roof and work one-on-one with residents. Red Cross workers guided clients through the process. Households met with 18 agencies at the MARC, including Sheboygan Housing Authority, Family Connections, Transportation Sheboygan Metro, Sheboygan County Registrar of Deeds, Wisconsin Dept. of Motor Vehicles, Rainbow Kids, and Wisconsin Dept. of Veterans Affairs. Transportation can be an issue for some families. Co-locating the MARC at the shelter alleviated the need for clients to travel to receive services, and made recovery planning efficient and low-stress.

Red Cross External Relations and Casework, in coordination with Sheboygan County Emergency Management and Salvation Army, secured housing for all the clients. The shelter closed on Saturday and follow-up casework continued thereafter.

For the families displaced in the middle of the night by this fire, disaster turned their world upside down in an instant. Without assistance, many would have faced homelessness, and been unable to meet basic needs like food and clothing. Moments like these underscore the unique role the Red Cross plays as a United Way partner agency. Thanks to our partners like United Way of Sheboygan County, the Red Cross was there for these Sheboygan residents in their darkest hour.

Agency Contact:
Steve Hansen
920-231-3590
steve.hansen@redcross.org