Santa Barbara, the coastal gem of the Golden State, is renowned for its beauty and culture, but is also prey to disasters, both natural and man-made.
That’s where the Santa Barbara County Chapter of the American Red Cross comes in, acting in concert with the community’s other emergency and social support agencies.
Louise Kolbert, the recently appointed chapter CEO, said Santa Barbara is especially blessed with caring, committed agencies and volunteers.
“The community spirit we have is phenomenal,” she said. “We’ve had four major disasters in two years. We want to get as many people as possible prepared to deal personally with disaster.”
Although most people have a general idea of what to do in an emergency, Kolbert said, the ideal is to be completely prepared. That means, she said: “Have a plan. Have a supply list. Know where valuable papers are and collect them, critical documents like property deeds, prescriptions and medical records.”
Kolbert said the Red Cross acts with other agencies when a disaster happens. Police, fire, sheriff’s and medical emergency agencies, the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County and similar organizations all pull together. “Has help been slow in coming? No,” she said emphatically. “When there’s an emergency, we only have short-term notice and we’re in action.”
That’s where preparedness comes in, she said. “We offer classes for everything, community disaster education, CPR, first aid,” she said. “Did you know we even have classes in pet first aid?”
Kolbert said that perhaps one of the most reassuring things about CPR is that once learned, it is not forgotten. “When you have had the training and someone is in distress and needs resuscitating, it all comes back and you know what to do,” she said.
Working with the Foodbank and county officials, the Red Cross helps stock trailers maintained at schools by local nonprofit Direct Relief International. Cots, blankets, food and water are stored, with the food and water replaced frequently to prevent spoilage.
In overall planning for disaster, 32 agencies work together to be ready for what might happen, Kolbert said. “Fires, earthquakes, tsunamis — we think about them every day,” she said.
Volunteers who are ready to go into action in the event of a major disaster include doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians and mental health professionals.
Schoolchildren receive Red Cross training as well, Kolbert said. “Kids in kindergarten through eighth grade take our ‘Master of Disaster’ course. Then they go around bragging, ‘I’m a Master of Disaster.’ They love it,” Kolbert said.
Kolbert wears a glittering silver angel pin. “It’s for Clara Barton, our founder,” she said. Barton, who worked tirelessly nursing Civil War casualties where they laid wounded, was known as “The Angel of the Battlefield.”
“You’ll never see me without an angel pin,” Kolbert said.
For information about classes and services, call 805.687.1331. The Red Cross chapter, at 2707 State St. in Santa Barbara, operates entirely on donations; it receives no public funding. It is assisted in its fundraising by givezooks!
— Margo Kline is a Noozhawk contributor.