Local volunteer to help with Surfside condo collapse relief

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- A local Red Cross volunteer is heading to Surfside, Fla. Saturday to help with the devastation after the condo collapse. 

Deane Oliva, leaves from Nashville at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. She, along with other Red Cross volunteers are going to provide spiritual care to any affected by the tragedy. 

Oliva was planning to go on a different deployment when she got the call that she was urgently needed for the collapse, which is near Miami. 

She says spiritual care will help folks with comfort, getting them to relax a little and get them to a place where they can breathe. They will help direct people working to find family members to the right resources and assist first responders. 

“I think each of us could put ourselves in their shoes. There’s devastation, there’s grief, it’s absolute horror. Not understanding what happened, not believing what happened, wanting it all to go away. A million other thoughts are just churning for them right now because we’re still in the throes of it,” said Oliva. 

Oliva said the deployment will be for at least two weeks, possibly three. They will then have a break and return after the break if still needed.