Decorah man lends a helping hand to Red Cross efforts in Florida

Decorah resident Jeff Tomlinson has just returned from two weeks volunteering at Red Cross Disaster Response Headquarters in Florida.  He worked with around 75 other staffers in Orlando at the headquarters for the Red Cross' response to Hurricane Irma.

Tomlinson received an e-mail from the American Red Cross that said volunteers were needed to help with the hurricane response.  He has volunteered for the Red Cross for the past two or three years, but this was his first time volunteering on site.  He has training in logistics, so he agreed to head to Orlando.

Central Florida didn't suffer as much damage as the two coasts did--and especially the Florida Keys.  But that made Orlando a good place to handle supply inventory and other logistics.  The Red Cross operated numerous evacuation centers in the state.

Tomlinson says he was most impressed with the "tremendous" enthusiasm shown by the volunteers.  "They're there to try to help."  He says everyone at the Disaster Response Headquarters worked hard to provide safety and shelter to the people affected by Hurricane Irma.

As Tomlinson left to fly back to Iowa, a number of the evacuation centers were closing, although many remained open, especially in the Florida Keys and the southern part of the state.  He says operations are shifting now to help hurricane victims in the "recovery phase" of the aftermath of the hurricane, helping them to get their lives back to normal again.