The Montana Red Cross delivered a shelter trailer full of supplies like cots, blankets and comfort kits to the Blackfeet Nation in Browning. The supplies will help the community open a shelter quickly during a disaster until Red Cross teams arrive.
Montana Red Cross delivered an emergency shelter trailer loaded with supplies including cots, blankets and comfort kits to the Blackfeet Nation in Browning late in July.
Those supplies will help Browning-area communities open a shelter quickly during disasters like wildfires, flooding or winter storms until Red Cross teams arrive. Emergency management officials and tribal council members were on hand as the Red Cross delivered the trailer.
“It’s important for us to have the opportunity to open a shelter quickly,” said Robert DesRosier, the director of Emergency Management for the Blackfeet Nation. “Disasters know no boundaries.
“We’re really grateful to the Red Cross for what they’ve done here today. We look forward to the day when we have a much easier time responding to disaster.”
Working closely with community partners and emergency managers, each year Red Cross helps meet the needs of hundreds of Montanans following disasters like wildfires and flooding.
That includes the Richard Spring wildfire on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and the Pine Grove wildfire on the Fort Belknap Reservation last summer. Also, it includes the Spotted Eagle wildfire that led to the evacuation of Heart Butte in 2015.
“We are honored today to be able to deliver these emergency supplies to such a wonderful partner,” said Shellie Creveling, Red Cross disaster program manager for western Montana. “Disaster response is a communitywide effort, and partnerships like these make our communities better prepared and more resilient.”
Support from Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies provided funding for the trailer and supplies.
In the past few months, Red Cross has also delivered emergency shelter trailers to the Northern Cheyenne Nation and to the Fort Belknap Reservation. The Crow Nation also received a disaster trailer and supplies several years ago.
Red Cross is currently recruiting for more volunteers to help the organization respond to Montana disasters. These Disaster Action Team members help deliver food and shelter — and just as importantly — provide emotional support and a shoulder to lean on for those impacted. More than 90 percent of the Red Cross workforce are volunteers.
