County considers volunteer coordination options

The American Red Cross has shifted some of its efforts in the wake of recent disasters – and concerns about how the agency is spending its money – a representative said Friday morning.
Bob Bartling, a disaster program manager with the Greater Northwest Iowa Chapter of the American Red Cross, based out of Sioux City, told the Calhoun County Healthcare Coalition the organization has refocused its efforts on providing food and shelter following natural disasters.
“It’s going back to the real basics of where we were,” Bartling said. “We were spending a lot of donors’ money. We were spending more money giving money away than was actually given away.”
The most common response the Red Cross has now is responding to single-family home fires, providing food, a place to stay, if needed, and cash assistance to find long-term housing or replace lost belongings, Bartling said. The organization’s aim, during larger disasters, such as the tornadoes that struck Illinois last week, is to provide a place for people to meet and to take the burden off first responders. If the Red Cross tents aren’t there, for example, people will gravitate toward “red and blue lights” of police cars, Bartling said. 
Read more in the April 15 edition.