The American Red Cross, Santa Barbara County Chapter will close its emergency flood shelter in Guadalupe on Friday, December 24. The Red Cross has been working with families displaced by the recent flooding to move them into apartments before the Christmas holiday and helping with clean up efforts taking place before the families move back into their homes.
“As soon as the Red Cross opens a shelter, we immediately begin planning on what steps will need to take place to close it,” said Kristiana Kocis, Public Information Officer, American Red Cross, Santa Barbara County Chapter. “We want families to have a safe place to stay, and we are thrilled that we are able to get them into something more stable before the holiday weekend.”
The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; and taught lifesaving skills to millions.
Locally, the American Red Cross, Santa Barbara County Chapter provided services to more than 30,000 people in Santa Barbara County and distributed disaster preparedness and health and safety materials to over 13,900 school children, seniors and community members.
The American Red Cross is not a government agency and relies on volunteers and the generosity of the community to perform its humanitarian mission, and would like to thank to Citrix Online and State Farm for sponsoring this year’s event. For more information, please call the American Red Cross, Santa Barbara County Chapter at 687-1331 in Santa Barbara or 928-0778 in Santa Maria or visit online.