Tag Archives: People we serve

Making Life on the Water Safer

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Red Cross Volunteers bring home fire safety to the floating homes of Sausalito

Catherine Lee, Ron Lau, Vincent Valenzuela, Lesley Carmichael and Claire Cannariato (L to R) prepare to install smoke alarms in floating homes

“You’re on the water.  You’ve got wildlife out your window.  You’ve got the sun playing off the water.”

That’s how Flo Hoylman describes living aboard a houseboat in Sausalito, Calif., just north of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge. But Flo, who serves on the board of the Sausalito Floating Homes Association, knows she and her neighbors on the water are just as susceptible to fires as any other Californians. 

“We still burn. And if there was a fire, like there was in Santa Rosa, the embers would come down on us, too.”

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A Closer Look at the Science and Stories Behind Donated Blood 

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Michael Gregory (right), Board member and Red Cross Biomedical Committee chair, gave guests including Nivia Charles (left) a tour through a blood lab

Special guests recently got a rare, behind‑the‑scenes look at the American Red Cross blood processing center in San Leandro, Calif., and the visit came with some powerful reminders of why blood donation matters. 

“As I am walking in today… you might not have known I have sickle cell disease,” guest speaker and sickle cell advocate Nivia Charles said as she shared her personal story. While her condition isn’t always visible, it’s far from rare: sickle cell disease is the most common genetic blood disorder in the U.S. 

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Investing in Preparedness: Inside the CAP Bus Tour 

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When torrential rain opened over California in the winter of 2023, few could have imagined the devastation that would follow. Fueled by rare atmospheric rivers, communities were flooded with destruction like they had never seen before. Among them was Pajaro, a small Monterey County town, where homes and livelihoods were destroyed.  

While this disaster did leave behind broken levees, it also ignited a new vision for preparedness, particularly in vulnerable communities where disasters repeatedly hit the hardest.  

That realization quickly became the impetus to launch the 18th Red Cross Community Adaptation Program (CAP) across the country out of Monterey County. This is an innovative Red Cross initiative designed to strengthen local partner networks in disaster-prone areas, ensuring families have the tools and support they need before the next emergency strikes. 

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Creative Collaboration Between Red Cross and Community Partners Solves Problems in a Disaster Zone 

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Local school bus drivers helped distribute food in Guam after a typhoon

After a massive typhoon hit Guam in 2023, people on the islands were struggling to feed their families. While the American Red Cross had set up a shelter to house people whose homes had been damaged, there were many people in the community who were not staying at the shelter but still needed food and water. Red Cross leaders wondered, how can we get food to the local community, when there are no street signs for navigating and we don’t have a fleet of vehicles here? Bus drivers were the answer! So, the Red Cross worked with the school district in Guam to distribute meals on school buses because the drivers knew the streets well and had transportation available already. 

After some time, Red Cross leadership was considering ending the feeding program in the community, but the volunteers in the field were concerned. They drove around to all the local bodegas and there was “nothing there” on the shelves, says Briana Taylor, Red Cross volunteer. “We went back and said, ‘You can’t stop feeding until we have food in the markets.’ People wouldn’t have had any resources to provide food for their families.” 

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How Blood Donations and Advocacy Helped a Dancer Reclaim His Life from Sickle Cell Disease

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Noah was a professional dancer in his 20’s

Modern, jazz, and contemporary dance — he loved doing them all on stage. He was a professional dancer who had performed in shows in Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta, and D.C., until the pain became too much.

“Deep chronic pain in my femurs and spine and throughout my body. It wouldn’t go away,” remembers Noah James. He was just 25 years old when the doctors told him, “Your bones are decaying.”

Noah was no stranger to pain, as he had been wrestling with Sickle Cell Disease all his life. But this was different. “It felt like I was walking on glass,” he says.

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Brought Back to Life by Blood Donations

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Latrese Fowler with her son Cameron when he was young

When Latrese Fowler found out her newborn son didn’t inherit sickle cell disease, she was so overjoyed that she had a celebration. “We had a party when we found out he doesn’t have sickle cell. We went to Las Vegas!” she remembers.

Twenty-six years later, Latrese is mom to grownup Cameron, and you can hear the pride in her voice as she describes his job as a utility locator. She is grateful her son was spared a lifetime of pain and hundreds of hospital visits treating sickle cell disease and its complications. It’s an experience she knows about firsthand.

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