Sandy & Me - Personal Notes from Hopatcong CERT Volunteer Jeff Guttenberger

It is great to be a blogger on Hopatcong – Sparta Patch, because I have the opportunity to give my views about my own community.  Today I have an opportunity to be proud of my own husband Jeff Guttenberger who was one of the ever present volunteers at the HHS Shelter wearing those bright fluorescent green shirts who quickly lent a hand to their neighbors in need. 

The following is Jeff’s personal notes on his experience being
a Hopatcong CERT volunteer to all of us trounced by Sandy who found comfort and a welcoming neighbor at the HHS Shelter:

I quickly wrote this story while events are still fresh in mind, it's not good prose but it comes straight from the heart.

Sandy and Me

Michele and I are OK.  Long ago I bought a small generator, camp stove, battery powered lanterns etc. These provided power for heat, light, and a cold fridge, they performed well during the crisis. I joined Hopatcong Community Emergency Response Team seven years ago to help my community in a crisis.

We lost power Monday night, our cable TV/phone/internet services functioned for a while but then they soon were out too. Tuesday morning with my wife, pets and home secure I reported to CERT for duty.

CERT had already set up a shelter in Hopatcong High School.  Recently, the Board of Education had the foresight to purchase a huge diesel generator.   Our CERT team worked tirelessly to provide food, warmth, sleep, and comfort for the ever growing group of people who needed our help.

After three days we were growing very tired, and then a squad of AmeriCorps people arrived to help us. They quickly grasped the situation, and pitched in to help with skill, and enthusiasm. 

When we ran out of food our Mayor asked the Red Cross for help.  Marty, the local Red Cross shelter manager informed Mayor Sylvia Petillo that to receive food the shelter would have to operate as a Red Cross shelter open to all, and operate under their complex rules.  Furthermore, they currently had no manpower to help us. Unarguably Hopatcong needed a higher tier of help.  However it also came with the classic red tape, and more work. Later two more Red Cross managers arrived, Frances had me at hello, and I sensed that she was perceptive and astute. She asked me what I thought of the situation. I told her what I thought, and assured her that CERT and AmeriCorps were flexible and would adapt to the situation without rancor. Frances was surprised to see that the CERT members were operating so efficiently and cheerfully in spite of the fact that we had our own dark homes and families to attend to. We were supposed to be victims, not first responders.  CERT people work tirelessly running around doing whatever was most needed, but always stopping to take the time to provide comfort to a distraught person.  These were our friends and neighbors not faceless victims. The Red Cross obtained food, Hopatcong HS provided warmth, FEMA provided cots for sleeping.  Special needs people were given care. Pets too were given shelter.  Crates were provided for dog, cats, and birds. A 16 year old girl gave TLC to our furry and feathered friends.

As the days wore on more Red Cross volunteers showed up to help, at first they seemed detached and avoided eye contact with us. They had been well versed in flow charts and procedures, but they didn't bring with them the personal touch preparations to deal with people on a personal basis – that human kindness factor. Luckily we had a little angel on our side, an 8th grade student named Aubrey. She told her mom that she wanted to help, and showed up every day, running around like the energizer bunny helping everyone. Her impish smile never failed to cheer us up.

I managed to maintain my sanity by going home every night. This meant starting the generator, cooking on a camp stove, and finding peace and quiet.

At some point all of the CERT and AmeriCorps members were ready to crack, again we had help. A counselor from NJ OEM took us into a room and we had a confidential meeting. When the meeting was over we all felt better, and we were ready to go back to work.

Every day brought new problems, a Halloween party brought
cheer to many, but confusion for us. Then generator that provided power for the building quit, volunteers immediately calmed everyone down. The Hopatcong Fire Department provided emergency lighting, and county police officers arrived to provide security. Then it was Election Day, which threw 5,000 voters into the equation.  Our fellow Americans brought us a mountain of much needed supplies, but more work for us sorting and storing the provisions.

Today is day 12 [Nov 10] of the crisis, and day 11 of duty for me. It is time for me to quit, I have a bit of cold, and am physically and emotionally drained. I have given and received countless hugs, and handshakes.  Numerous friends have melted down emotionally in my arms. Our beloved cat Harry is missing. My heart has taken a severe beating, but it is not broken. I will come out of this a better
person.

What I learned from this disaster:

This crisis was an opportunity for me to prove my worth. Our Community Emergency Response Team provided us with the training to do so. I had
no idea how well trained we were, personally, and as a team. I will rest well tonight knowing we made a big difference. 

2% of people are absolute angels.  6% of the people are heartless fools. The rest of us are working on earning our angel wings or our devil's horns.

Evaluations:

Our Hopatcong Emergency Response Team performed very well. We met every problem, adapted to every situation, and managed to smile through it all. No one ever lost their temper in spite of the mountain of stress thrown at us. Hopatcong CERT Rocks!!!

AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps:                                                http://www.americorps.gov/about/programs/nccc.asp

This is a group of college age men and women who dedicate 10 months of their lives to helping people. After their service they are given $5,00 in educational funds.  They provided us with timely help when most needed and did it with a smile.  Please support them financially.  AmeriCorps Rocks!!!

The Red Cross: 

The Red Cross has enormous financial and human resources.  Unfortunately big organizations are often saddled with a set of inflexible impractical rules and this seemed to be true with the Red Cross. They were slower to respond, and slower to come up to speed than the other response teams.  Red Cross volunteers lacked
development in responsiveness to peoples' emotional needs.  Red Cross needs additional training courses in human interaction.  Maybe Hopatcong CERT can give them some guidance.    

Be Safe - Be Well  Be Happy

PS check my facebook page for photos