The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Tornado: Resources & relief

Discussion

June 27, 2011

RESOURCE: Red Cross puts out last call for people needing shelter

From staff reports news@joplinglobe.com

JOPLIN, Mo. — The American Red Cross said Monday that only 10 people stayed at its shelter in Webb City on Sunday night, and that most of those have now found housing.

That is down from a height of 300 in the immediate aftermath of the May 22 tornado. The Red Cross also noted that it provided more than 3,414 overnight stays to people affected by the storm.

The agency said it wants to give the community a heads-up that it may be closing down the shelter and wants to make sure no one is still staying in a storm-damaged home without a place to go. It also wants to make sure that storm victims being released from area hospitals have a place to go.

“We are not going to close it until we have shaken all the trees,” Christi Harlan, Red Cross spokeswoman, said Monday. “If you need it, we will be here. If not, we will redirect our resources.”

The shelter originally was at Missouri Southern State University and was moved earlier this month to Webb City Junior High School, 807 W. First St.

“Missouri Southern was the center point of the Red Cross response in Joplin,” Brian Keath, director of emergency services for the Greater Ozarks Regional Chapter of the Red Cross, said in a statement. “We could not have helped people as much as we did without their facilities and volunteers.”





Need help?



RED CROSS ASSISTANCE is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at its resource center at 1110 E. Seventh St., Suite 13, in Joplin or by calling 866-206-0256.

Text Only
Tornado: Resources & relief