MESA, Ariz. – September 15, 2005 – When Mesa Community College employees Vamika Beale and Darlene Newman first walked into the evacuee center at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday September 7th, they were overwhelmed. As part of a select group of MCC students and employees, Beale and Newman tried to take in all the unfamiliar people, activities and apparent chaos that surrounded them.
“When we first came in, we had no idea what was going on, or where anything was. But after a short tour and some initial familiarization, things made perfect sense,” said Newman. “We realized we had just stepped into a very unique community, where hygiene was top priority, families slept near each other, and stations were set-up to meet every physical and emotional need.”
Beale and Newman joined other volunteers at the coliseum working to assess and meet the needs of the evacuees. Their specific job…transportation. They worked as a team to find and transport evacuees to a safe home, or in some poignant cases, reunite families divided by the tragedy.
One such incident involved a mother separated from her special needs son and his caregiver. She had grabbed her daughter, and the caregiver took the 13-year-old son when the disaster struck. Like all mothers she was anxious about his health and safety after five days of separation. Newman and Beale coordinated his transfer from Lafayette to Phoenix to join his mom and sister, as well as ensuring proper medical attention and housing would be available to the family.
“To work with a family from beginning to end was very fulfilling,” said Beale. “We didn’t want to leave them until we had exhausted all means of either finalizing their request or redirecting them to another area where they could be assisted.”
For Newman and Beale to have success with the evacuees they had to be professional and empathetic, really willing to hear the evacuee’s whole story.
“Most people wanted to be able to express themselves to someone, to share their story and make that human connection. Sometimes they would be too overwhelmed emotionally and would tell us they needed a break, they couldn’t handle things right then,” said Newman. “Then when they were ready to talk again, we would be there. For a moment we became family, willing to do whatever we could to help them through this difficult time.”
VOLUNTEERING HOPE
Despite their efforts, all situations were not pleasant. Beale recalls a gentleman they were assisting to locate family and shelter. After many calls and research, they finally found a sister and talked to her on the phone. Unfortunately, the sister was already housing nine other family members and couldn’t take her brother.
“It was heartbreaking to share with an individual that after all they had been through they would not be able to find shelter from a family member or friend,” said Beale. “This was definitely a low point, but we were still responsible to provide whatever support and hope we could and continue to work with them until shelter was secured.”
Despite the frustrations and setbacks, both Newman and Beale have never felt more rewarded from a volunteer experience.
“The courage and resilience of the people was amazing,” said Newman. “We had one older man singing and celebrating, grateful to be alive and ready to start over in Arizona.”
Volunteers from MCC continue to work this week in the shelters, soup kitchens and organizing supplies and resources for members of this unique community. As the evacuees come and go, Newman and Beale will remember the time they gave and the faces of individuals that for a few moments they called family.
For additional information on educational and scholarship
opportunities visit www.mc.maricopa.edu.
