Sheltering, spiritual care and seal soup

by Dan Dowling, regional communications manager

“You try to help people realize you are there for them. I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve with the Red Cross.”

Paul Miller joined the American Red Cross in October 2024. He is a chaplain for the American Legion Post in Brewer, Maine, and the VA home in Bangor. Since becoming a Red Crosser, he has been deployed to some of the country’s most challenging disasters, including hurricane relief in North Carolina, wildfires in Los Angeles, and flooding in Eastern Kentucky.

Disaster volunteers, like Paul, often meet people on the worst days of their lives. The Red Cross strives to address, not only meeting survivors’ physical needs, but to address their emotional needs as well.

“Three times I’ve been in spiritual care. Three times I’ve been in sheltering. Even in sheltering, I still do spiritual care with the people. I’ll listen, talk, ask questions, and pray if they want me to,” says Paul.

Spiritual care is a fundamental component of holistic care that recognizes the importance of spiritual beliefs and values in people’s lives. It has been shown to have a positive impact on individuals and communities experiencing crisis and hardship. Spiritual care, available to people from all backgrounds and faiths, involves providing voluntary support and care to individuals, families, and communities to meet their spiritual needs and help them draw upon their spiritual resources. The program creates opportunities for people to connect with their spiritual beliefs and practices, including meditation, prayer sessions, and other spiritual activities. Red Cross collaborates with religious leaders, chaplains, and faith-based organizations to provide additional support to people.

Paul’s most recent deployment in November took him to Anchorage, Alaska, to support a shelter for an indigenous community displaced by a Typhoon Halong. The village, primarily Moravian in faith, had been hit hard, with land sinking and water rising to the point where the community faced total relocation.

After the typhoon, over 2,000 Alaskans were relocated to safer areas. Paul says that each disaster response is different, but they all require compassion and coordination to be effective.

“You need a calm and levelheaded approach in disaster relief work,” he says.

Expecting to find a shelter filled with despair, Paul instead discovered a community bound by deep faith and respect. "To say they're sweet is an understatement," Paul reflects.

Paul formed a bond with the community elders, including a man named Tommy who had served in the Alaska Territorial Guard during World War II. Respect for elders was central to the community at the shelter.

“Because I worked closely with them, I was allowed to stay during tribal meetings, even though I wasn’t a member. They voted to relocate their entire community because the ground was still sinking and the water was rising. I thought they’d be crying, but there was none of that.”

While helping to serve the needs of the people at the Red Cross shelter, Paul learned about Moravian culture and customs.

“They are hunter-gatherers. People living with relatives in Anchorage would bring traditional foods such as caribou soup, fish heads, seal, salmon, octopus and whale. One day they had a seal harvest. They butchered a seal and a sea otter, and that night we had seal soup and sea otter soup. It was quite different.”

Paul credits his fellow Red Cross volunteers with effectively meeting the diverse needs of those in the shelter during his Alaska deployment.

“Our sheltering crew of eight was fantastic together. Having a supportive and cohesive team makes all the difference.”

Paul says that the most impactful moments were often the quiet ones. Early one morning, on the second day of his deployment, he had a meaningful experience with one of the shelter residents.

"I noticed one man was sitting on his cot, his hands were folded. I waited and when he was done, I walked over and just started talking,” remembers Paul.

He learned the man’s Bible had been destroyed in the flood. Paul was able to find the specific type of Bible the man had lost. It was a small act that restored a piece of the man's spiritual foundation.

For Paul, disaster relief is not only about logistics and supplies. It’s also about compassion, resilience, and the human spirit. He encourages others to consider volunteering.

The Red Cross relies on dedicated volunteers, like Paul, to fulfill its humanitarian mission to alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies. Donations support nearly 100% of Red Cross disaster relief efforts. Your donation helps to provide food, shelter, relief supplies, financial assistance and comfort when people need it most.

Visit redcross.org/NNEholiday to become a lifeline for someone in need. Every single donation makes a difference in someone’s life.