Mairead Stein and Judy Mathieu have been called upon by the National Red Cross to help in New York through Maine's Pine Tree Chapter. Mathieu's husband, Joe, is waiting eagerly on stand-by to be deployed.
All three have helped aid disaster victims before.
"I got involved with the Red Cross after Katrina. I was first deployed to Rita," said Mathieu.
Even with prior experience, they still don't know what to expect.
"It's a little scary because you never know what you're getting into, but I'm really excited about going," said Mathieu.
One thing that's certain, they'll be put to good use when they get there.
"I'm a nurse, but I'm also a mental health professional, so I'll be working with disaster mental health and potentially health services," said Mathieu.
Disaster Response Manager, Danielle Hardre, says emotional services are an important part of recovery.
"I think the Red Cross is unique among their response agencies in that it puts high significance on mental health professionals being integrated into the recovery process," said Hardre.
Helping fellow Americans during this critical time is one of the main reasons these three are proud to be involved.
"I like the camaraderie of it, that everybody together, doing anything and everything that they can to help these people," said Stein.
Four more volunteers are being deployed Saturday in two of Maine's emergency response vehicles.
For more information on Hurricane Sandy efforts, log on to maineredcross.org.
Add your Comments