by Jennifer Kowalewski

Debby Dunseath might not have served in war, but she and other Red Cross volunteers felt they were living in a MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) unit while helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Dunseath and two other Ohio University graduates — Meghan McGuire and Megan Fallon — while not fighting on the frontlines of Afghanistan or Iraq did their country an equally worthy turn as volunteers in the Red Cross following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Their actions were inspired by their service in ComCorps, a branch of AmeriCorps administered through Community Service Programs (CSP). As members of ComCorps, Dunseath and Fallon had performed local Red Cross volunteer work; McGuire had been trained for volunteer service in the Red Cross.

Dunseath completed her ComCorps service earlier this year with Fallon, while McGuire will finish in August 2006.

When they arrived in Louisiana, they were given a crash course in what they needed to do to help people survive a natural disaster that had swamped the city of New Orleans and blew away coastal chunks of Mississippi and Louisiana.  

“Without the health-care providers that volunteered there would have been no care for the evacuees,” Dunseath says. “All systems in Baton Rouge were on overload and could not possibly care for the many that needed assistance with health issues. We all did the best we could in a ‘hostile’ environment. We often felt like we were serving in a war zone. The term MASH came up a number of times.”

Like Dunseath, McGuire experienced a lot in the thick of the wreckage of New Orleans.

“My experience in New Orleans taught me a lot about myself and what is important to me. It opened my eyes to so many things,” McGuire says. “I learned more about patience and compassion and empathy while there than I could ever have learned elsewhere.”

Fallon says she loved working with people to raise money for emergency needs. But like many in the region, she found staff relations difficult during the stressful time. Dunseath agrees.

“The importance of screening the volunteers was a major issue,” Dunseath says. “Many of them did not understand the culture in Louisiana, and they were not prepared for the things they encountered.  I spent a lot of time with staff members who were overwhelmed and therefore ineffective in the jobs they were sent there to accomplish.”

“They are wonderful women who believed that they could contribute to the relief efforts. Through their Red Cross service they were able to help people in very great need. Their experiences were very valuable lessons in real humanitarian work,” says Nancy Schell, ComCorps program director.

That’s what ComCorps is all about, says Schell, “helping others.”

Schell says CSP’s program provides health education, health screenings — such as lice prevention and vision checks — and facilitates access to health care for children and families. CSP’s AmeriCorps grant, in place since 1999, is administered through Ohio University.

ComCorps partners with all five schools systems in Athens County, the local Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Head Start and seven community agencies.

ComCorps also is a valuable vehicle for OU-COM students to participate in screenings and health presentations.

Because of the program, the lice infestation rate has fallen in area schools. Although vision screening is not mandated by the state, ComCorps helps to screen children, because many learning problems are a direct result of poor eyesight.

“Everyone should take the time in their life to serve in an area that is suited to them in AmeriCorps,” Fallon says, adding the program has helped to improve communication between area schools and agencies.

“Our members provide an opportunity for teachers to introduce health education into their classes,” Schell says. “We teach hand washing and germs, testicular health, nutrition, exercise, poison prevention and any other topics requested. Considering recent research that indicates that healthy children are better learners, we also encourage teachers to incorporated exercise and walking programs in their classes especially since physical education is offered less and less each year in many schools.”

“ComCorps is a wonderful program,” McGuire says. “I have learned so much and felt so fulfilled at the end of the day. It is a great stepping stone into the so-called ‘real world’ of employment. I wouldn’t trade my time with ComCorps for anything.”