'This is a lot worse': Red Cross volunteers bring experience to help Helene victims

Dennis Bayne and Paul Stillitano have no idea what they’ll be getting into for the next two weeks.

The American Red Cross volunteers deployed Thursday morning in an emergency response vehicle from Pittsburgh, headed to North Carolina to help the victims of Hurricane Helene.

They won’t know their specific assignments — or even where they’ll be sent — until they get to Charlotte, N.C., by Thursday night.

“We’re here to help them the best we can,” said Stillitano, 66, of Avonmore. “We’ll see what we run into. It’s going to be a new experience for us due to the extent of damage that’s down there.”

At least 200 people are known to have died in connection to the destruction from Hurricane Helene and its aftermath since it made landfall a week ago. Many communities in western North Carolina were destroyed by several feet of fast-moving water.

And it’ll be a tall task to rebuild from the devastation in the communities affected by the hurricane — and future natural disasters. The Red Cross effort comes as Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned that the Federal Emergency Management Agency doesn’t have enough money to respond to any future hurricanes.

In a statement to reporters Wednesday aboard Air Force One, Mayorkas said FEMA’s budget has enough in it to handle the Helene response, but warned Congress may have to take action to approve additional money for the agency before year’s end.

“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting,” Mayorkas said. “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the (hurricane) season.”

So far, 38 volunteers from Red Cross chapters in Pennsylvania have gone to help with the Helene relief effort, said spokeswoman Nicole Roschella. Of those, nine are from Southwestern Pennsylvania.

The Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services of Western Pennsylvania also has deployed disaster relief experts to assist with efforts across the southeast. Those members, currently in Georgia, include Assistant Director Adam Kitta, Maj. Dorothy Budd, commanding officer of the Beaver County Salvation Army, and Lt. Tom Perez, commanding officer of the Washington, Pa., Salvation Army.

Bayne, 70, of Plum and Stillitano have been on four deployments this year for the Red Cross — and six total since they started volunteering with the Red Cross two years ago. They are on the Red Cross’ disaster action team and also respond to local house fires and floods.

They usually go out as a disaster assessment volunteer and assess people’s homes after a tragedy. But for Helene, they anticipate delivering supplies and offering supports to those in need, Bayne said.

“We see devastation all the time, but what we’ve seen on TV … this is terrible,” Bayne said.

The pair, who became friends through their volunteering with the Red Cross, recently returned from Florida after helping with the response to Hurricane Debbie, a Category 1 hurricane that caused widespread flooding across the Southeastern U.S. in early August.

In April 2023, they were deployed to Mississippi, near Tupelo, to respond to tornado damage.

“We saw some unbelievable sights,” Stillitano said. “But all we’ve seen (from Helene) is what you’ve seen on the news, and it’s nothing like that. This is a lot worse.”

Despite the unknowns, the pair’s prior experience will assist them in their efforts, Stillitano said.

“It’s hard to fathom what you see on TV. When we get down there, we’re actually going to see it firsthand,” he said. “It’s going to be a different experience for us, but we’ve been on many deployments and we’re ready for whatever they put us up to.”

They also understand the task ahead is going to be not only physically demanding, but also mentally. Bayne said they are going to hand out supplies such as toiletries, blankets and even stuffed animals or toys to victims, “and if they need a shoulder to cry on, we’ll be a shoulder to cry on.”

“That’s what we do, that’s what we’re here for,” Stillitano said. “We’re here to help people, do the best we can, and hopefully there’ll be enough to give them some help, some hope.”

Bayne and Stillitano encouraged people to volunteer and get involved however they can, with Stillitano referring to it as a “calling.”

“I got tired of hearing and thinking the same thing: ‘Somebody ought to do something, ” Bayne said. “I said, ‘You know, I’m going to do it.’

“There’s so much that needs to be done, and we so desperately need volunteers.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.