TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

The day her home caught fire, Sunshine Matthews thought she didn't need to call the American Red Cross because her family already had another place to stay down the street.

Then, on Day Two, it became clear that neither she, her mother, her 6-year-old twins nor her 14-year-old nephew had soap or a toothbrush. So, Matthews took her neighbor's advice and picked up the phone.

She was glad she did. Within half an hour, the Kern Chapter of the American Red Cross had supplied her family with all the necessary toiletries, as well as referrals for temporary shelter, food and clothing, if necessary.

"You never think about it because there's things you always have a thousand of," Matthews said. "But if something like this happens, you don't have anything."

Her experience points to the special role the local nonprofit plays in the lives of people disrupted by disaster.

This year the Kern chapter estimates it helped about 450 people who experienced a a disaster of one kind or another. It also reports providing training in first aid, babysitting and other skills to about 12,000 people a year.

Often the organization, now in its 92nd year, helps by handing out emergency items -- bottled water and vouchers for food and clothing, among other things -- to people who have just been displaced by fire, earthquake or other disaster. Much of this work is done by volunteers, as the local chapter has only four employees.

Lots of preparation work must done ahead of time, said Jennifer Perfect, the chapter's volunteer and emergency services director. She works with churches and schools across the county to make sure that people who are displaced have somewhere to go.

"That's always our goal, is to be prepared so when it happens, it's easier to respond," Perfect said.

A common misperception, CEO Lorraine E. Castro said, is that the local chapter receives taxpayer money or financial assistance from the national organization. In fact, it gets no such money, and instead operates on an annual budget of about $560,000.

Recently Erika Madrigal and her family were left homeless when a fire destroyed the roof of their Delano home. Immediately the American Red Cross' Kern chapter was there to help, giving the family water, toiletries and payment for two nights at a nearby hotel.

Without the assistance, Madrigal said, the family's three adults and two children might have had to split up to find shelter.

"They were really helpful," she said, referring to the local chapter and its volunteers.

"It's good that there's people like them. I mean, I never thought about the Red Cross."