PHOENIX — The Red Cross anticipates assisting those impacted by recent hurricanes for months, but the first wave of volunteers sent before Hurricane Helene touched down are back home.
Ken Edelblute, an eight-year Arizona Red Cross volunteer, has just returned from his sixth deployment to a hurricane zone where he was in charge of distributing food and resources to people in hard-hit Florida.
This time, he describes it as one of the worst he's ever seen.
Edelblute says guilt lingers despite spending 16 days helping.
“You're driving around these communities, and people are sifting through mud, trying to find their belongings. A lot of them do not have insurance. A lot of them, this is the second or third time they've gone through this," he said. "There's really a feeling of hopelessness right now."
Deployed to run food and resource distribution in Florida after Hurricane Helene, Edelblute ended up staying longer when Hurricane Milton struck.
He says the devastation before Milton came through was already jaw-dropping.
“That was the crushing thing about this incident. Things were getting better every day from Helene, and then Milton hit. Everyone I talked to was packing up, saying, ‘We can't do this again.’ And that was before Milton," he said.
Every day, Edelblute and his team drove three hours each way to deliver hot meals and resources to those who had lost their homes.
They served 500 meals daily, but he tried to maintain a personal touch during these interactions.
"It can be depressing seeing people go through the roughest days of their lives, but it's also rewarding," he said. "What's better than giving a hot meal to a couple who have been sifting through mud all day, or handing a candy bar to a little girl who has lost all her toys? It's depressing, but it's also very rewarding."
Despite the grim realities, Edelblute also witnessed incredible acts of generosity.
People donated their time, clothes, generators, and whatever else they could.
However, he says there is still a pressing need, especially for more Red Cross volunteers to step up and help with the ongoing recovery efforts.
