Providing relief to disaster victims makes life more meaningful
Red Cross volunteer, 54, leads a busy life
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

Connie Hall has likely seen more destruction in a decade than most people see in a lifetime.

As an 11-year volunteer with the American Red Cross, the Camarillo resident has helped orchestrate relief for victims of local and national disasters, such as Moorpark's Shekell Fire and Hurricane Katrina.

"This keeps my mind active," Hall, 54, said. "(It) keeps me from going stir crazy."

Due to a back injury suffered in a 1995 car accident, Hall can't sit or stand for longer than 15 minutes or lift more than 10 pounds. Accustomed to having a full schedule, the mother of three had to leave her fulltime job and cut back on helping her husband with his plumbing business after the accident.

No longer able to perform her usual activities, she wanted to keep busy in some other worthwhile project. She signed up as a Red Cross volunteer in 1996, drawn by the 90-year-old organization's humanitarian work.

Hall has seen over the years what the merciless forces of hurricanes, fires and floods can do to people and property. Undaunted, nonetheless, she finds volunteer work with the Red Cross mentally stimulating.

"I do this to keep me challenged; you can't sit around and watch TV all day long," she said.

Hall is chair of the Ventura County chapter's disaster relief services and oversees some 300 volunteers. Among her many duties is ensuring that everything is in place to open one or more shelters in the county when a disaster strikes.

She puts in more than 40 volunteer hours a week, she estimates.

Dale Franz, who worked as a volunteer alongside Hall for two years before recently accepting a paid position with the organization, said Hall remains coolheaded when under pressure, a vital attribute to the position.

"She's a perfect fit, I think," Franz said. "She's very peopleoriented and has a lot of common sense, so when something happens she's ready to address it. . . . She knows what need to be done."

Hall was one of 302 Ventura County Red Cross volunteers sent to the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. During her nine-day stay, Hall saw victims so traumatized and shocked by the widespread destruction that it was difficult for them to make any future plans beyond their daytoday needs.

Hall said working smallerscale disasters, such as Hurricane Ivan in 2004, tend to be more gratifying. Because the devastation was limited to a smaller area than with Katrina, she said she saw people recover faster, filling her with a sense of accomplishment.

Another disaster that stands out for Hall is the 2005 La Conchita mudslide, which killed 10 people and destroyed 36 homes.

"This was memorable not only for the death . . . but there was a lot of other devastation overlooked in the county," she said.

The steady rains that led up to the mudslide isolated parts of Piru and Ojai, trapping residents. Red Cross workers and other emergency responders, however, were able to get food and other essentials to them, she said.

Generally unruffled in the face of death and destruction, Hall's eyes nonetheless tear up when recalling particularly poignant memories- such as the somber mood of rescue workers when a body was pulled from the La Conchita hillside. Even the young inmates from a county correctional facility stopped their digging and fell silent in a show of Being able to aidrespect, she said.

Since the Red Cross receives no government assistance but depends entirely on donations to stay afloat, volunteers like Hall are a critical component to operations, officials said.

The Ventura County chapter, which celebrates its 90th anniversary this year, has 21 paid staff members but more than 1,000 volunteers.

The chapter has main offices in Camarillo and Ventura, and satellite offices in Thousand Oaks and elsewhere in the county.

Besides disaster relief services, volunteers can sign up to support any number of Red Cross programs, including health and safety education, volunteer recruitment and services for military personnel and their families.

For more information on the American Red Cross or for volunteer information, call the Ventura County chapter at (805) 339-2234.