It was only 8 years ago when Danilla Sands, founder of United Disaster Relief of Northern California (UDRNC) set up a table and lawn chair in Redwood Valley to assist her community members following the devastating 2017 Redwood Complex Fire.
Since that time, through her persistence, combined with a coming together of community members and partners, Sands and a dedicated group of volunteers created a unique, “one-stop” shop for victims of disasters throughout Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma and Humboldt Counties.
Recently, due to the foresight of a generous private lender, the organization was able to move into their permanent location- the former Coca Cola Bottling Company, located on Babcock Lane. Volunteers are preparing for the organization’s 3rd Annual Spring Benefit Luncheon. The event will take place on Saturday, May 17th and will feature pizza provided by Slam Dunk, a no-host bar, music by Will Siegel and Friends, a drawing and auction, and most importantly, a tour of the new facility.
Champion Sponsors for the event are All In Heating & Cooling, Deanna’s Family & Friends, 94.5 K-Wine & 93.5 Max Radio, John & Jeanette Johnson, LG Electric and several anonymous sponsors. Gold Sponsors are C&S Waste Solutions, SUDZZ Powerwashing, Ukiah Valley Adventist Health, Silva Septic and anonymous sponsors. Star Sponsors include WIPF Construction, LLC, Brenda Cross, Parks Security, Redwood Valley Lumber and Blue Ribbon Pets. Additional event sponsors include Lions Club Ukiah Host, Redwood Empire Lions Club, Costco and Starbucks.
“It’s not a matter of ‘if’ we’re going to have a major disaster in our area; it’s a matter of ‘when,’” says Sands, who has seen her share of emergencies large and small since the formation of UDRNC. The idea for the new location is to be able to scale and respond to emergencies at a location that can absorb an influx of disaster victims needing support and volunteers to help them, providing an array of referrals and direct services at one location.
“The building certainly looks quite a bit different today than when we moved in,” says Sands. For the past 6 months, the focus has been on building out the front offices, conference room, food pantry and space for volunteers. “We’ve retooled the front of the building to meet the needs of our clients and the organization. Every floor and carpet area has been sanitized, and every wall has been painted. We tried to replicate the office at our former location, and we now have beautiful windows so everyone can see outside and work in a nice, open, comfortable space.”
The City of Ukiah estimated it would cost about $14,000 to make the initial improvements. “With the help of our community partners, we did it for $1,500,” Sands smiles. “We have room for three volunteers to be working at the front desk, and along with the 2,000 square-foot office space, we have an 11,000 square-foot warehouse. We now have 2 loading docks, so what used to take over 2 hours to unload will now take 15 minutes.”
The building is located on a fenced, paved 2-acre lot. “We’re hoping to be able to offer our space to organizations like Search and Rescue for training opportunities, or use the parking lot as a staging area for fire departments or Red Cross vehicles. The possibilities are almost endless, because we have the correct C2 zoning,” Sands continues, stressing that the support of local businesses and volunteers enabled the organization to have an almost seamless transition from the previous location to the present one.
“Since we’ve moved, we’ve increased our numbers of volunteers with experience in the building trades. We have a retired general contractor, plumber, electrician, roofer, a professional designer and so many more.” The all-volunteer non-profit organization receives fiscal sponsorship through North Coast Opportunities, and works closely during emergencies and disasters with organizations not limited to the American Red Cross, the Tzu Chi Foundation and Catholic Charities. Those impacted by a disaster may receive assistance for up to three years. Currently, there are approximately 125 registered volunteers, with a solid two dozen who show up regularly to take care of everything from pulling weeds and working on building improvements to answering the phone.
Most recently, the UDRNC responded to the Lovers Lane apartment fires in Ukiah.
“Over 50 individuals were living in 15 apartment units that were severely damaged or destroyed, and had to evacuated long-term due to the damage. Others had to be out of their apartments for 4 to 10 days due to power outages and water damage,” Sands notes, adding that is it important for the community to understand that UDRNC serves anyone who is the victim of a disaster, regardless of citizenship status.
“This fire impacted a predominantly Spanish-speaking community. Once we were able to get client verifications, we were able to help coordinate rental assistance for many of the affected households. Juan Orozco was very helpful engaging the Mexican Consulate, who met with a number of the victims. We were able to rapidly come together with a list of the affected individuals and match them to their specific needs, whether it was rental assistance, clothing, employment or food. We want everyone to know that we support people from all walks of life and all cultures.”
One of the most important aspects of Sand’s position is to look out for the health and well-being of the volunteers.
“With our clients, we address the whole person- physical and emotional, and sometimes, in the midst of an incident I have to stop, collect my thoughts, remind myself that these people will recover, and that our center gives them hope. We come together as a team to help people, reassuring them that everything they are feeling is normal. And we remind them and each other to rest, eat and drink and take care of one another.”
Sands hopes that the community will turn out on May 17 to eat, drink and envision the future of the UDRNC space as more improvements are made to the property.
“It’s going to take some time and some TLC, but in a few years we’ll be golden.”
The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are expected to sell out. Tickets are available online through Brown Paper Tickets, in Ukiah at the Mendocino Book Company or at the United Disaster Relief office. Carpooling is recommended. UDRMC is located at 650 Babcock Lane. For more information visit the Facebook page, the website at udrnc.org or phone (707) 489-3970.
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