Volunteers Continue to help as much as they can in Pajaro

PAJARO, Calif. (KION-TV)- Progress has been made in Pajaro about three and a half weeks since the town was flooded.

Volunteers are making that happen, as federal help remains unavailable as of late Monday. Lori Chapman is with the Red Cross.

“This has been going on for quite a while,"Chapman said. “So, I knew that this is where I needed to be and so we left. I left for a two-week deployment."

She got into volunteering even before she retired from her previous job in Connecticut.

“I worked for the state for 34 years and retired a year ago from there, but while I was there, they were kind enough to provide me with time off to deploy,” Chapman said. “So I've been deploying for over six years and wherever, wherever needed.”

She hopes to continue providing help wherever she’s needed.

“And we all have that same mission and that same drive, and we don't stop until it's done,” Chapman said.

It could take weeks, months or maybe years to bring Pajaro back to its former self. What's being done on the ground to help now, according to Lori, has been appreciated by families impacted by flooding.

“I love helping the communities that I come to serve,” Chapman said. “I mean, it's very gratifying. I love to see a smile on someone's face when you hand them a hot meal.”

The Red Cross will continue to stay in Pajaro even after the meal services won’t be needed to help aid in individual assistance for families here in the community. They will continue providing meal services to Pajaro until given clearance that the city’s water is safe.