By Dyana Mason Red Cross Cascades Volunteer and Rebecca Marshall Communications Director

Extreme heat and fires have impacted Oregon communities over the past several months, leaving many seniors to struggle with the weather and poor air quality, challenges which can exacerbate underlying health conditions.  To help alleviate these risks, the Red Cross is partnering with a local program in Jackson County called Hearts for Seniors to help them stay in their homes.

Hearts for Seniors, a project of Hearts with a Mission, is a companion care program for isolated seniors that matches volunteers with seniors to help identify their needs and then work to provide them.  In partnership with the Red Cross, the program has helped build ramps, purchase and install air filters and air conditioners.

“We have several seniors who are just being released from the hospital, from open heart surgery, people with lung diseases, with infection, and we’re able to provide them that [needed] support now because of our partnership with the Red Cross,” explained Stephanie Miller, Program Manager with Hearts for Seniors. “We’ve had incredible feedback that they just feel so much more secure. They feel comforted because somebody’s shown up and cared. It’s about compassion. It’s about letting them know that they’re seen and they’re valued and then, of course, it’s improving their quality of life.”

Jackson County is one of eighteen communities nationwide that have been selected to participate in the of the Red Cross’ Community Adaptation Program (CAP).  The areas selected for CAP are those considered by the CDC to have high social vulnerability, considering factors such as socio-economic status, language fluency, housing, and transportation. The Oregon CAP team has been in operation since August, 2023 in Jackson County and is working with local nonprofits to help increase their resiliency and capabilities through equipment, training, materials, funding, and volunteer pools.

“We’re excited for what this partnership can mean for our community,” said Miller.  “We definitely have a large volunteer base that I think will be mutually beneficial. They’re willing to jump in and help out in times of need, and they’re already doing that now. So when disaster strikes, I know it’ll be a great partnership, and we’re going to have so many people ready and willing to jump in and help others.”

Neil Brockway is the Sr. Director, Disaster Risk Reduction at the American Red Cross. He oversees the CAP program across the country. He visited Oregon recently to talk about the program.

“The driver behind this program is the Climate Crisis.  CAP is a program that helps us get in with communities before disaster strikes and helps them build a network of resources to become more resilient.”

“Empowered communities and engaged communities is what CAP is about. The reality of repetitive disasters, one disaster after another, can send communities into a spiral. This program works with partners in local communities to prevent that spiral from happening.  Communities are the experts.  We listen to their needs with an empathetic approach and then utilize our 140 years of humanitarian experience to help support them in those areas,” says Brockway.

We hope we don’t have another disaster in Jackson County but if we do, we know the partnerships built through our CAP program will help our communities get back on their feet much more quickly.

To find out more about how you might help CAP and other Red Cross programs, go to www.redcross.org or call 1-800-HELP-NOW.