Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Volunteer Marks 15 Years of Service
MaryJane Westra received her 15 years of Red Cross volunteer service in late October. To mark the occasion in MaryJane fashion, a couple days later she hopped on a plane for a multi-week deployment to Hawaii.
MaryJane’s role as a Disaster Mental Health volunteer means that she’s helping people deal with their lives being turned upside down, sideways and more after disasters like the terrible wildfires on Maui.
We had a chance to speak with MaryJane before her departure. “I’m doing the tiny bit that I can do to make them feel better sooner, to prevent long term trauma, especially in children,” she said. MaryJane’s base chapter is Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota.
Her top tip for providing emotional support for people dealing with disasters is “to listen, listen, listen without judgment.” She said, “It’s also important to pay attention to what people say their needs are. And with kids, help them get into their routine as best as possible like getting kids back to school and on regular mealtimes.”
She knows what she’s talking about. MaryJane is a retired social worker. Her Red Cross experience includes helping people in Texas after Hurricane Harvey and in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
The need for more experienced mental health volunteer responders continues to grow, especially as climate-related disasters increase and more people need the Red Cross for help. During 2020 and 2021 alone, the Red Cross averaged a new, major disaster response every 10 days with volunteers like MaryJane continuously on the ground providing critical relief for thousands of people with no place else to go.
We know this can be tough to hear and grasp, but people are depending on the Red Cross being there to help. To get started, please go to redcross.org/givetime.
American Red Cross Minnesota and Dakotas Region 