CHICAGO, IL (Nov. 16, 2017) — American Red Cross of Chicago and northern Illinois CEO Celena Roldán and her mother, Ida Roldán, are preparing to deploy to Puerto Rico to support people affected by Hurricane Maria.
Celena and Ida are leaving on Monday, November 20th and will be available for interviews in English and Spanish today from 5:30PM-6:30PM at the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois headquarters at 2200 W Harrison Street.
The mother and daughter team will be spending Thanksgiving together in Puerto Rico during the 10-day deployment.
CEO Celena Roldán previously deployed to Houston to support Latino outreach programs after Hurricane Harvey. Roldán holds a Master's degree in Early Childhood Administration from National Louis University, as well as Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She will be supporting relief efforts through a multitude of roles in Puerto Rico.
Ida Roldán is a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst working in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Roldán is Acting Dean at the Institute for Clinical Social Work. She received her PhD from The Institute for Clinical Social Work, and her analytic training at the National Training Program for Contemporary Psychoanalysis. Dr. Roldán has a private practice, and provides clinical consultation and supervision. Dr. Roldán’s areas of interests focus on the clinical implications of working with clients living HIV/AIDS, and the psychological impact on clients who suffer societal and institutional racism, oppression, and discrimination. Ida is deploying to Puerto Rico as a Disaster Mental Health volunteer.
During a disaster response, Disaster Mental Health workers meet the emotional needs of disaster clients, communities and other Red Cross disaster workers in disasters of all sizes. They identify individuals who need additional support, provide short-term disaster mental health interventions and refer individuals to local resources as necessary.
During recovery, Disaster Mental Health volunteers work with community resources to ensure that individuals, families and groups get the mental health support they need as they rebuild their lives. Training can also be offered to help community members recognize stress responses in their friends, families and themselves. These volunteers effectively support people experiencing stress and identity and recognize when to get additional help.
FAST FACTS
In Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands emergency shelters remain open for people with nowhere else to go.
MAKE A DONATION The Red Cross depends on donations to provide immediate relief. Help people affected by Hurricane Maria by visiting redcross.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS. Donations enable the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from this disaster.
About the American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois:
The American Red Cross of Chicago & Northern Illinois serves 9.5 million people in 21 counties in Northern Illinois including Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Jo Daviess, LaSalle, Lake, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Putnam, Stephenson, Whiteside, Will and Winnebago. The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit us at redcross.org/il/chicago or visit us on Twitter at @ChicagoRedCross.
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