Personal experience motivates volunteer to help

By: Glenn Adams

Red Cross volunteer Clyde Morris sees himself in the faces of some of those he serves in the aftermath of the 2020 hurricanes that have lashed the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Morris was 8 years old when his family lost their home in the San Francisco Bay area to a fire. Relief agencies helped to find a hotel where his family could stay temporarily after it was left homeless. Morris recalled the details as he worked as a sheltering associate in a Dallas, Texas, hotel following the devastation in Louisiana left by Hurricanes Laura and Delta. As an associate, he sat in a conference room at the Hilton Anatole with families, helping to arrange aid where it's needed and to plot their paths forward. 

“I've seen the kids here, mostly they're OK, but I see the parents and hear their stories and see what pain my parents were going through,” said Morris, 68, who is retired from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and now lives in Sierra Vista, Arizona. He remembers his own parents filling out forms for assistance too as they recovered from their loss. His family found a house to live in following the fire, and a local minister's wife helped by making sure the home was stocked with fresh linens, towels and sheets. Morris, then a Cub Scout, never forgot the kindness of others at a time of distress for his family. 

That experience, along with the example of his Red Cross volunteer sister, prompted Morris to sign on himself. His gratification shone through as he closed case after case at the Dallas hotel, announcing to fellow volunteers, “Another satisfied customer!” 

As the Dallas shelter neared closing, Morris said he was particularly touched by one of the last families he helped guide through the the first stages of recovery. The family – a father, mother, a 3-year-old and newborn baby – had lost their home in Lake Charles, Louisiana, one of the most brutally lashed targets of Hurricane Laura. The youngest child, just a few weeks old, was born in Dallas following the family's evacuation. The children's grandparents, who are in their 70s and also evacuated from Lake Charles, also came to Dallas. 

With his own childhood experience in mind, Morris worked with them to sketch out a plan for recovery. 

“The system worked out so the grandparents will watch the children. The dad found a job in a Dallas warehouse,” said Morris. “They had hope for the future they didn't have this morning,” Morris said after completing their paperwork. 

“Another satisfied customer.”