College Employee on the Front Lines in Helping Flood Devastated Neighbors

Caldwell College Employee Carolyn Mitchell is on the West Essex CERT team that has been helping area neighbors who were evacuated from their homes as a result of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.

Caldwell, NJ – September 12, 2011 - As the days unfold in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee we continue to read, hear and watch stories of devastation, loss and heartache from the flooding. Underneath the exhaustion and suffering, we are also hearing stories of people helping people within their own communities.

Carolyn Mitchell, an administrative assistant in the Caldwell College Psychology Department, is on the West Essex Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)., which manned the evacuation shelters after Irene hit on August 27 and then again soon after when more residents were evacuated from their homes as a result of flooding from Tropical Storm Lee.

Mitchell arrived to volunteer at the shelter at 7 a.m. Sunday August 28. Residents came in from area towns, mostly from flood-ridden Fairfield. Over the next week, Carolyn would find herself doing overnight shifts while sitting at the front desk when the National Guard dropped residents off. She logged the residents in, assisted in processing their forms, and “just listened to them to help them get through.” Mitchell, who has been on the emergency team for eight years, said she and members of the team also tried to spot those who needed some emotional assistance. “We are trained to recognize stressful situations and then call them into the incident command center.” After each overnighter, Mitchell would go to her job at the college. “You’ve got to do it. Who else is going to take care of the flood victims?”

It was the September 11, 2001 tragedy that spurred Mitchell to get involved. “I lost a friend in 9-11 and I was angry.” She decided that instead of feeling helpless in an emergency, she would use that energy for good. She wanted to know how to help other people in an emergency situation. The West Essex CERT Team was just getting up and running and Carolyn and her husband were there with the beginning group training once a week on different aspects of response like: search and rescue, how to use a fire extinguisher properly, how to lift parts of a collapsed building off someone, and how to spot possible terrorism.

Over the last several years she has volunteered with CERT providing vital services in the West Essex community. There have been several times when they have had to assist flood victims. Mitchell, who is certified in shelter management, spent her entire 2011 college spring break week working at a shelter for those who were put out of their homes due to flooding. CERT also assists at community events like high school graduations. They manage crowd control and assist the elderly. At street fairs and parades, they are “an extra set of eyes for the police,” Mitchell said.

And if all of that was not enough of a challenge or excitement, Mitchell was recently trained as a certified storm chaser to know how to safely observe and call in specific severe weather conditions. She sees all of this as a “way to give back and stay active”.

It is a rewarding experience for Mitchell to be a part of CERT. “It is not that you can make a 100 percent difference in a person’s life but you can give them a little bit of hope. That is the reward,” said Mitchell.