A 1st Deployment Story

By Doug Martin, Disaster Volunteer

I spent the second week of my 2 week deployment in a shelter located at North Collier Regional Park in Naples.  We typically had between 130-150 clients with a high of 170.  Most of the clients were there due to the lack of electricity in a very hot and humid South Florida, though there were many that lost everything.  I was assigned as shelter manager at the location  where I led a team of approximately 20 volunteers.  We made sure that the clients were as comfortable as possible.   Most of our time was spent just sitting and talking to the clients.  I sat with a retired military veteran for many hours which was one of the highlights of my deployment.  He told me many stories about his time fighting in the Korean Conflict.  His smile and sincere gratitude made This whole thing worth while for me.  Another client was a young person that was desperate to go home to family.  Due to extenuating circumstances, going home was not an option and she intended to leave the shelter.  My team and I were able to convince her to stay, and again, a simple smile from her three days later made it all worth it.  There are many stories like these.  This shelter was also a pet shelter which added another challenge.

This was easily one of the most humbling things that I have ever done.  The outpouring from the community was overwhelming.  A man and some of his friends drove a portable shower from Atlanta to the shelter, and working with the county, every client in the shelter was able to take a shower.  Dunkin’ Donuts brought fresh hot coffee and donuts every morning.  These gestures turned a shelter where clients laid on their cots staring at the ceiling into a vibrant community of survivors.

I have never been so mentally and physically run down in my life, but the gratitude and hugs from these folks made it all worth it.  The flight attendant on my flight home asked me if I would do it again, and I told her that I would go back in a second.  I came back a person changed for the better.  I had the best team of volunteers and together we ran the best shelter that we could.