People’s homes were damaged or destroyed and they needed help.

That’s all Red Cross Disaster Services needed to know, and volunteers flocked into Kenosha County after severe weather hit Kenosha, New Muenster and Wheatland on January 7. With assistance from the West Bend Chapter, the Red Cross was able to assist the residents of the 60 buildings damaged or destroyed.

Casework outreach teams went into subdivisions, ensuring that residents had a place to stay and offering Red Cross assistance. Volunteers in the Emergency Response Vehicle also offered hot drinks and food to workers sifting through the rubble and cleaning up what was left of their homes.

The majority of Red Cross assistance was directed at the areas worst affected, New Muenster and Wheatland, and came in the way of items like storage bins, work gloves, comfort and clean up kits---supplies the residents needed as they cleaned up debris. A large vehicle on loan from the West Bend Chapter served as a bulk distribution point for residents to receive work items. Volunteers also drove Red Cross vehicles filled with bulk distribution items into the affected areas and passed out supplies to anyone who needed them.

The Red Cross also opened two shelters that eventually transitioned to service centers, where bulk items were available and mental health volunteers were stationed.

As volunteers were working in New Muenster and Wheatland, others were assisting those displaced by two large fires. The first of those fires struck on January 3, leaving 30 Racine residents out in the cold.

Disaster Action Team members provided lodging for the clients that night. The next day, two community organizations, the Homeless Alliance Leadership Organization and Grace Church, provided shelter for the families until they could move back in to their building. Red Cross workers continued to provide transportation, food and other basic services to the residents until they could return to their building on January 9.

Also on the same day the tornadoes hit, January 7, a fire struck an apartment building at 920 N. 28th Street in Milwaukee. Some of the residents had nowhere to go while repairs were made, so Mass Care volunteers were called in to set up a shelter at the Milwaukee Red Cross office. In all 13 residents spent the night, and caseworkers followed up the next day with the other residents who needed food, clothing and other basic needs until they could return to their apartments or find another permanent residence.

The Red Cross is not a government agency. All Red Cross disaster assistance is free. Your local American Red Cross in Southeastern Wisconsin serves people in need in Dodge, Jefferson, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha counties. To help those affected by this and other disasters, financial contributions can be made on our secure donation site or by calling 1-800-236-8680.