Park Slope Armory

Park Slope Armory was the second place we went to drop off items from the donations we had collected. There were about 300 cots all lined up in rows, with poster board paper marking the names of nursing homes that these elderly and disabled people had come from. I was told they were mainly from the Rockaways. The volunteer organizers told me, at the moment, they were overstaffed and had enough volunteers. So I didn't stay.

We delivered our things. It was quick and painless and again I only wished we could have done more.

There were several striking observations about this shelter. 

The level of organization it must take to run a shelter for the displaced elderly and disabled is enormous. I saw some guys lined up outside on folding chairs, seemingly waiting for a shower, from a shower truck. For those of us who have worked or do work direct care, the imagination quickly goes to the individual you serve who has the most disabilities and how you would maneuver to get that person up those six metal steps and both of you into the shower. The whole time you are imagining just how wet you will be after you give this person a shower. What these volunteers are doing is nothing short of amazing.

They have a wellness program going already. Various nail painting, musical guests, and exercise programs throughout the day to keep the population active. Various restaurants and synagogues are delivering over 3000 meals there daily to keep up with demand.

They still need things that aren't there yet: adult diapers (no one ever remembers adult diapers, everyone gets baby diapers, its a more attractive donation), plus size clothes (no one ever remembers fat people, they always donate the clothes that are too small for them), toiletries, diabetic socks, house slippers, and chapstick (oh of course, chapstick, that's a great idea). 

FEMA, the Red Cross, AmeriCorps were all at the site, it was very well organized, they even have a website for volunteers to sign up at so they don't get overloaded with extra people. They seem to be in constant need of Russian and Spanish speakers and men to help the gentlemen living there with showers. 

While they had enough volunteers while I was there, this is an ever changing scene of devastation and they use social media to get the word out. They had enough volunteers through the sign up sheet they offer http://www.volunteersignup.org/CXKEL. I'm certain that it will be much harder for them to get volunteers during the week than the weekend, they put out the list for two days at a time. Here is the ongoing twitter feed for "park slope armory" https://twitter.com/search?q=park%20slope%20armory&src=typd.  

This ongoing situation must be logistical nightmare for someone. Placing 300+ people into new nursing homes or new assisted living facilities across New York is the next task at hand. It is very unlikely that these individuals will be able to go back to their devastated neighborhoods without extensive rebuilding. The Park Slope Armory is their temporary island home for now. I pray for them and for the dedicated volunteers and staff working with them in such precarious situations.