Jose Castillo was in Houston when tropical storm Allison hit. It devastated Southeast Texas. It was part of the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season.

“I wanted to help and I volunteered through my church,” said Jose. “My parents are Mexican, and I speak Spanish which was especially useful.”

At the time Jose had no plans to join the American Red Cross. But Allison caused a lot of damage to the city. Getting basic necessities like food was a problem.

“I was hungry one day,” he recalled, “when the aroma of this delicious food wafted over. I followed my nose, saw these containers, and went over to help myself. The person working the site looked at me and told me the food was for the Red Cross volunteers. I told her I wasn’t one. So she said, ‘sign here.’ So I signed a piece of paper without even reading it. ‘Congratulations,’ the lady said. ‘You’re now a Red Cross volunteer,’” he laughed.

He added, “I later learned that the food came from what is called a Camaro. They are food containers the Red Cross deploys during disasters. That was 24 years ago and ever since then I’ve worked as a case worker for the Red Cross.”

On May 16, 2024, a “derecho” struck Houston hard. A derecho is a windstorm associated with bands of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms. The storm that hit Houston that day had a derecho. There was an EF-1 tornado lurking in the storm’s dark clouds, with winds up to 110mph. An EF-1 refers to the rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale.

Jose has multiple sclerosis and now uses an electric wheelchair to move around. “Fortunately, I had charged my wheelchair the day before the storm hit. We lost power for 48 hours.” Then he joked, “my wheelchair became a mobile phone charger for the people who live with me!”

After the storm had passed, the lady that helps Jose with some of his daily routines like getting dressed gave him some bad news. “She said, looks like you’ve got a hole in your roof.”

“I needed a tarp or two because of the hole in the roof of my house,” Jose said. “I saw on Facebook the phone number for people who needed help after the storm. I called and I qualified so they put me on their list.”

The list that Jose got on was seen by Kelsie Davis, the Deputy Regional Disaster Officer at the Red Cross. She was at the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) where the list of people who needed help had been posted.

“Kelsie recognized my name and called me,” Jose said. “I told her what my situation was. Kelsie in turn contacted Felix Chavarria with the Disaster Action Team (DAT) at the Red Cross. Felix then sent two DAT members who were helping out during the disaster response. They came from other states.”

Nine out of 10 members of the Red Cross are volunteers. When a disaster happens, volunteers flock from all over the country to help.

“The DAT volunteers brought me the tarps,” Jose narrated. “And I said, you know what? I took communications many years ago. Let’s take a picture. It’ll end up on the Red Cross page on the Volunteer Connections.” And with pride ringing in his voice he said, “I posted it with the heading ‘The Red Cross takes care of one of their own.’”

Over the years Jose has helped in many disasters. “I am a people person. I love helping people. I love being able to find a solution for individuals,” Jose said.

Years ago Jose found himself helping others in yet another disaster. “I was with three other guys trying to get to a flooded mobile home at the base of a hill. “Water had come down from the top of the hill into the mobile home,” Jose said. “The road was very muddy, and we couldn’t get to it in the car. So I got out and started walking. At the time I was still able to walk using crutches,” he recalled. “The other guys looked at me puzzled and one said, man that little guy is really trying! Another added, ‘Yeah, he’s the little Mexican that could.’ And the nickname stuck,” Jose laughed.

Jose enjoys serving others. “I like going to represent the Red Cross, especially since I have a disability. But I don’t let that get in the way,” Jose said.  “My motto is, not my disability but my ability to help others.”

The Red Cross does not discriminate against, nor does it tolerate discrimination against or harassment of, any person based on race, color, religious creed, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, veteran or military status, marital status, citizenship status, ancestry, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, genetic conditions or predisposition to certain diseases or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local law.

If you would like to become a volunteer please sign up at redcross.org/Texas.