Disaster Corps Members Lend a Hand to Flood Victims

When torrential rain caused severe flooding across the Midwest and Southeast last month, the Los Angeles Red Cross sent 24 members of its Rapid Response Corps to help.

Elizabeth Parra, 20, was one of those chosen to go. The Roosevelt High School graduate spent more than two weeks working out of a gymnasium in Portsmouth, Ohio, helping flood victims.

The Eastside resident worked primarily in family services, where she issued Red Cross vouchers for food, clothing and furniture to families whose homes were damaged.

“It’s nice to see the smiles when they see the Red Cross,” she said.

Parra also helped survey homes for damage, often as the owners watched. She remembered one elderly couple in particular, whose home washed into the Ohio River.

“They worked for 45 years [to get the house] and in just one moment it was gone,” Parra said.

The young mother of two said she had to hold back her tears when dealing with victims because they might have given up hope if she was not strong and reassuring.

This was Parra’s second disaster. In January she went to Santa Rosa in Northern California after the massive flooding there. “It was complete devastation,” she recalled of the situation.

Parra joined the Red Cross program in November after receiving advice from her priest. Eight months earlier, her boyfriend was killed by gang members.

After Parra finishes her one-year stint with the Red Cross, she said she plans to study nursing.

Members of the Rapid Response Corps do not usually fly across the country following catastrophes. Most of their time is spent in Los Angeles teaching earthquake and disaster preparedness courses to children, senior citizens and residents with limited English skills.

Corps members also teach classes on CPR, first aid, health and other subjects.

The group’s most popular activity is a puppet show they perform for children dealing with preparedness for earthquakes and other disasters.

Participants in the 11-month program receive training, an allowance for expenses, health care coverage and an educational award of $4,725 to pay for college tuition or occupational training. The program is funded by Americorps, the national service program of the Corp. of National Service.

Of the 24 people sent on the latest aid mission, four were from the organization’s Central East District, located in East Los Angeles. The corps members were Parra, Daniel Zermeno, 22, Sergio Vera, 18, and Miguel Esparza, 21.