Donna Anderson sat at a table in the middle of the Albany Civic Center while people whizzed around her, some dropping off food and water, others seeking a place to stay after being displaced by the most recent storm to devastate the Albany area.
Anderson, 77, volunteers with the metro Atlanta Red Cross chapter, and she assumed the role of Albany’s shelter manager after driving to the south Georgia city Monday morning.
She arrived to find a “pretty chaotic” situation with people who were, understandably, stressed.
“Everybody was coming here to leave donations, and everybody was coming here to help themselves to donations,” she said. “The Red Cross is just not set up to deal with that kind of stuff, nor did we have enough help, of course.”
As a solution, Goodwill will collect donations and distribute vouchers for those in need, she said.
A man approached Anderson and told her he was sorry to interrupt, but someone called and wanted to bring a semi-truck full of donations to the center. The woman who has volunteered for Red Cross since 1968 remained calm, seemingly unfazed.
“We’re trying our best to meet the needs of clients affected,” she said.
The 24-hour shelter in Dougherty County provides lodging and other services for those displaced by the storm.
About 115 people stayed there Monday night, and another 30 had arrived by Tuesday afternoon, Anderson said. It can hold 200 people — or 500 “with a little rearranging.”
Outside, there was not a cloud in the blue sky.
Zac Suber, 26, parked his truck and unloaded cases of water from the back. He lives in Leesburg and was directed to the Albany center after donating in Tifton.
“It’s a small community,” Suber said. “It just seems like the right thing to do.”
Meanwhile, a few miles away, the road to Big Pines Estates park was blocked off.
Police would not allow foot traffic.
Cars lined the side of the road, leaving people to stand around them, unable to get inside and feeling helpless.
Some of them had loved ones inside the park when the tornado a hit.
To pass the time, they talked about what transpired only days before.
“I may be a big guy, but I cried like a little girl,” one man said.
Three shelters remain open for residents displaced by severe weather.
Four people were killed as a result of the Jan. 22 tornado that ripped through the county, and one is confirmed missing, 2-year-old Detrez Green.
Shelter locations are:
DOUGHERTY COUNTY:
Albany Civic Center
100 W. Oglethorpe Blvd.
Albany, Ga. 31701
TURNER COUNTY:
Turner County Civic Center
354 Lamar St.
Ashburn, Ga. 31714
COOK COUNTY:
First Baptist Church of Adel
200 E 5th St.
Adel, Ga. 31620
People interested in donating items and supplies can drop off at:
First Assembly of God Church
601 Massee Post Road
Adel, Ga. 31620
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