Montana Red Cross volunteers stepped in just when Damian Burwell and her family needed them most.

Damian, her 1-year-old daughter and her boyfriend were forced to evacuate from a Livingston mobile home park in early February during a standoff involving an armed man and law enforcement. They originally thought they would be displaced for just a few hours, but it became apparent it was going to be much longer.

A full-time student at Montana State University, Damian had just paid her rent and other first-of-the-month bills and didn’t have money for a motel room. To further complicate matters, others in her support network live in that same mobile home park and were also forced to evacuate, leaving her few obvious options.

The family went to Walmart to buy clothes, formula and diapers for 1-year-old Maci and try to figure out what they were going to do next. As the store was closing and they were considering spending a cold winter’s night in their Jeep, they got the phone call they needed to hear -- -- thanks to coordination between emergency officials and the mobile home park property manager.

“Red Cross said, ‘Hey, we have a hotel room for you guys,’” Damian said. “It was amazing because we were panicking. We had a 1-year-old who was not in a good mood, who wanted to go home but we couldn’t go home, and it was freezing outside.”

That night and the next, the family was able to stay at the local Travelodge, where they were also provided meals at no cost.

“We were so relieved when we got to the hotel room,” she said. “Our 1-year-old sleeps in a crib, and the hotel even had a pack-and-play we could use. Breakfasts and lunches and dinners were all taken care of so we didn’t have to spend a fortune on fast food.”

Over three days, Montana Red Cross worked closely with community partners to provide more than 55 overnight hotel stays and serve 66 meals to 29 families displaced by the armed standoff. Volunteers also handed out blankets and comfort kits with hygiene items like tooth paste and shampoo and helped replace critical medications left behind during the evacuation. The standoff, which began on a Tuesday afternoon, finally ended Wednesday night when law enforcement were able to take the man into custody. Families were allowed to return to their homes the following day.

“The families were definitely appreciative,” Red Cross disaster action team volunteer Joan Mainwaring said. “We had several of the people we helped ask how they could become volunteers.”

Damian’s daughter even got something special to put her at ease at her temporary home-away-from-home.

“Maci got the cutest Mickey Mouse toy, and she loved it,” Damian said. “It gave her that extra little ‘oh, everything’s OK.’”

Valerie Utley, a Red Cross disaster responder who lives in Livingston, is proud of how well her community stepped up. That included local restaurants that got warm meals out the door quickly, the property manager who helped make sure tenants found a safe place to stay and emergency officials who helped coordinate efforts.

“It was really neat to see a small community all coming together,” she said.

It’s compassionate responses like these, she said, that make her proud to wear the Red Cross vest.

“It doesn’t matter the situation, the Red Cross is there,” she said.  “It’s not just natural disasters -- it’s not just hurricanes -- it’s the small fires, it’s the standoff, it’s anything, and I love that about this organization. All my years growing up, I’ve seen them on TV and always wanted to be part of an organization that’s bigger than myself, bigger than the disaster and be there for somebody. Even if it’s just holding their hand, giving them a hug, reassuring them … to give them some sense of peace and reassurance in a very trying time.

“The Red Cross mission is what I’m about.”

YOU CAN HELP

Did you know Montana Red Cross helped more than 700 people following a disaster last year? Help the Montana Red Cross respond to disasters big and small by making a financial gift today. Visit MontanaRedCross.org or call 800-272-6668 to learn more.