How can Santa Barbara County residents help East Palestine, Ohio and Pennsylvania poor citizens who need water, testing services, medical attention, and relocation?
There is NO government entity, no non-government organization, no nonprofit, helping these citizens with their survival needs.
I’ve called several organizations (Direct Relief, Red Cross, …) plus Congressman Salud Carbajal asking “where’s the leadership?” Everyone is MIA. This is shameful; and it horrifies donors and taxpayers.
I contacted American Hero John Rourke, CEO of Blue Movers in Florida after learning he is personally with staff delivering cases of water to trapped, frightened residents. Like me, he saw a poor young mom with no car and two children under age 6, walked to the store with her kids to then attempt carrying a case of water plus an infant back home. Frail elders and disabled require front door survival assistance.
Talk show host Benny Johnson went to East Palestine with $20,000 to randomly pass out $1,000 checks to 20 desperate people so grateful that any fellow American even cared.
We know disasters well. Our generosity is remarkable, the Bucket Brigade are exemplary citizen driven responders.
What can we do? Where’s the leadership?
Denice Spangler Adams
Montecito
Editor’s note: After seeing Ms. Adams’ letter, the News-Press contacted Direct Relief, and Tony Morain, the Goleta nonprofit’s vice president for communications, said Direct Relief reached out to health facilities in the affected area but has not received any requests for medications or supplies. The News-Press also reached out to U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal’s office, and the Santa Barbara congressman said, “As a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I have been monitoring the updates and reports coming from East Palestine, and am committed to ensuring that federal entities our committee oversees — like the Federal Railroad Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board — take necessary steps to enable the people of Ohio to put this disaster safely behind them.”
