Erin Deery post #2

I hope everyone had a great second week at their sites! I got to talk to some people yesterday at our urban farming activity and it sounds like everyone is really getting in the swing of things. Sorry this is a little late, I got confused with the dates (won't happen again).

This week at the Red Cross was extra busy for the Volunteer Services crew because we are switching computer systems for online classes. In an effort to make volunteering more accessible to everyone that is interested, almost every class taught at the Red Cross is available online as well as live in the chapter. I think this relates to the transportation issue that we discussed last Tuesday. It helps to level the playing field for those that don't have cars or easy access to public transit. I mentioned our MATA experience to my supervisor, and she said that although the bus system is not very reliable, the Red Cross really pushed to have a stop nearby (actually the stop that our group was delayed at for 45 minutes) so that lower income clients would have a way to get to conferences at the Red Cross if they needed support.

One disaster that affects lower income neighborhoods the most is fire - especially in the winter. Older houses with older electrical wires and outdated heating systems are the most at risk of fires. In the winter  in efforts to stay warm will overheat these systems or turn to alternative heat sources like fireplaces or space heaters that can start fires within homes. These families may rely on the bus system to seek help from the Red Cross. I asked my supervisor what the Red Cross protocol was for families who did not have access to transportation, and she said that the Red Cross will always provide transportation in our company cars or emergency vehicles if it is the only way for the family to get help. The fact that the Red Cross and other non-profits are already thinking about the transportation issue in Memphis in regard to their clients I thought was encouraging for greater reform of transportation in the future.

I can't wait for the rest of this week to unfold. It's already bringing new challenges and learning experiences. I went to a meeting last night talking about how to make the Red Cross more visible to the community which really got me excited for the planning that is going to happen this week. I am also mentoring two high school girls that want to help out in Volunteer Services a few days a week, so that will be a fun leadership role for me to take on starting today!