Red Cross volunteers on mission to help after Isaac

Rested up from a long drive from Long Island in an emergency response vehicle, American Red Cross volunteers Susan Squillace and Veronica O'Neil were waiting for heavy rains to lessen Friday before heading out to remote Louisiana communities impacted by Hurricane Isaac.

Their mission, after packing the vehicle with water and snacks and heading out to communities in the Houma, La., area: Assessing damage, such as downed trees and flooded homes, as well as finding and feeding residents who had not evacuated, said O'Neil, of Valley Stream.

They're headed to areas of southern Louisiana where there's no easy access to food, O'Neil said from a facility in Port Allen, La., outside Baton Rouge, where they stayed the night.

She and Squillace, of Farmingdale, are two of the 15 Red Cross volunteers and two staffers from Long Island deployed mostly to Louisiana, but also to Mississippi and Texas, American Red Cross officials said.

Scheduled to depart Friday from Long Island is Liz Barker, 32, a staffer and director of emergency services, who expects to work with residents directly affected, connecting them with services and helping with the FEMA process. Her duties could also include distributing supplies, such as coolers, tarps, work gloves and flood-clean-up units, she said.

Expecting more specifics when she arrives, she says she'll follow advice she gives volunteers when she readies them for such assignments: "Go out and be flexible."

Having worked locally when Tropical Storm Irene hit the area, she said she's moved when others come to Long Island to help out.

"This time I get to go help someone else," she said.

As O'Neil put it, "Something you feel inside swells up" and that's "knowing you're helping someone else who really needs you."