HOW CAN WE HELP FLOOD VICTIMS?

By Kirsten  Andelman

Photo via CalFire: Firefighters fill sandbags. Sandbags are available at most fire stations countywide.

February 2, 2024 (Spring Valley) -- The mood was one of somber preparation, mixed with some fear – and a palpable lack of optimism.

Around the corner from the Local Assistance Center set up last week for flood survivors at the Spring Valley library branch, firefighters at the San Miguel Fire District station heaved shovels all day last Thursday.  They packed bags with sand, and then delivered them to the long line of cars idling at the corner of Gillespie and Orville Streets.

People searched for ways to prepare for more line, while others stood by to support the many families already impacted by the floods of January 22.

For the displaced people awaiting a fresh deluge of rain the following day, the question had remained the same: “Where can we go?”

As of last Thursday, the only answer to that question was: the emergency shelter set up by the Red Cross on January 22^nd at Lincoln High School. The County has since closed that location, but set up a new shelter in the Municipal Gymnasium in Balboa Park, 2111 Pan American Plaza, San Diego, CA 92101 (Map)

Outside of the free-standing gymnasium turned into a shelter at Lincoln High School, Phillip Brown was in charge of Disaster Spiritual Care for the American Red Cross. “”We’re ready,” he said, as he folded his arms across his chest. “We’re here to house you and feed you in the midst of this storm.”

Inside of the shelter, which media members are not allowed to enter, Brown explained that there were about 50 people sheltering inside. “We can make room for anybody,” he said, explaining that there was no limit to the number of people they were prepared to shelter.

Brown said that some people were sleeping in cars outside, to guard their vehicles, while their family members stayed in the shelter.  “Everyone is hurting,” he said.

On January 22^nd, the first night the shelter was open, there were about 15 people who sought shelter there. “But then the hotel vouchers the school district handed out, they ran out. Or people’s hospitality dries up. And that’s what we’re here for.”

In the first few days, the sheltered people included students enrolled at Lincoln High School. The numbers ebbed and flowed between 15 and 50, Brown explained, but there was great uncertainty about how many people would show up in the coming days, as an already-saturated county waited for the many more inches of rain that had been predicted.

People staying at the shelter were being fed with food donated by area restaurants,  Brown said. Rather than use locker room space at the school, shelter residents were being taken to the Jackie Robinson YMCA to take showers. Gift cards donated to the YMCA were being used to buy residents’ clothing

What Can You Do?

• Donate to the San Diego Foundation’s Flood Relief Fund. This fund is providing money to nonprofit organizations aiding flood victims.

• Donate to the Shelter: Donations are being collected at the Jackie Robinson YMCA, Mr. Brooks said, and there was a demand for clothing in all sizes, and toiletries.  Gift cards are preferred over used clothing.

• Volunteer to Staff phone lines for San Diego chapter of VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in a Disaster). VOAD provides “interagency planning; relief; response and recovery activities” during a disaster, but a shortage of local volunteers means calls for help are being answered by volunteers all around the country. San Diego VOAD volunteer Dawn Hubert explained that interested people can take a one-hour online course to become a hotline volunteer, and she encourages people to go to VOAD’s website.

• Give to GoFundMe: Many flood survivors have set up fundraising on GoFundMe to help them rebuild their lives. You can find San Diego flood survivors’ pages listed at https://www.gofundme.com/s?q=san+diego+flood.

• House of Ukraine has set up an emergency fund to help the Ukrainian Church in Spring Valley, which suffered over $300,000 in damage from the flood, including direct damage to the church as well as destruction of humanitarian supplies slated to be sent to  Ukraine.