Bill Earley, the CEO for the San Diego / Imperial Counties Chapter which the American Samoa Red Cross comes under, has highlighted efforts by the local Red Cross in the weekly internal bulletin about happenings within the chapter.
An item title, “American Samoa Reaches a Milestone,” says:
“Last week, volunteer Lipea Sui in American Samoa opened the first two ever cases in the Red Cross Client Assistance System (CAS).
It may sound inconsequential, but it’s a giant leap forward in the quality of client assistance our American Samoan co-workers are now able to deliver to clients.
Opening cases in CAS means that Lipea was able to immediately provide financial assistance to two families whose homes were damaged in a severe wind and rainstorm.
Before, the American Samoan Disaster Action Team (DAT) responders would have to call San Diego caseworkers—sometimes having to wait until the next day due to the time zone differences—and ask us to open the case here.
Then the American Samoan DAT or caseworker would have to return to the family to provide them financial assistance. This achievement is a result of both a big training effort and improved connectivity.
Thank you, American Samoan DAT workers, for your dedication to fulfilling the Red Cross mission in your community and helping ease the suffering of those experiencing disasters!”
