DEMPS volunteers answer the call to help in hurricane-ravaged North Carolina

To date, 11 employees have been or are scheduled to travel to the region to assist the Asheville VA Medical Center as part of the Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System, known as DEMPS.

DEMPS is the Veterans Health Administration’s program that deploys clinical and non-clinical staff to areas in need in the event of disasters or emergencies. Full-time staffers can volunteer for deployment and must be approved by the supervisors for the assignment.

“I couldn’t be happier” with our response, said Jeremy Wilson, emergency management coordinator for the Milwaukee VA, noting that 112 Milwaukee VA employees have expressed interest in DEMPS, with about 60 typically ready to go in a moment’s notice.

“It’s a really rewarding experience. It can be long hours and emotionally taxing, but they really feel good going down there and doing it.”

One employee told Wilson she would gladly go over the holidays or whenever there was a need.

“She said, ‘I just want to make somebody’s else’s life, in this time of tragedy, a little bit better,’” Wilson said. “These people just want to help.”

‘Unbelievable’

One of the first Milwaukee volunteers on the scene was Scott Jahnke, a Veterans Transportation Service driver who deployed to Asheville Oct. 3, less than a week after the hurricane hit.

He saw the worst of the devastation.

“What happened there is unbelievable,” he said, remembering the obliterated buildings, cars in trees, washed-out roads and evidence of water cresting 25 feet over the riverbank.

Water, electricity and other utilities were scarce, and communication was spotty, he said. The Asheville VA was running on generators, and water was shipped in daily to the hospital via tanker trucks.

As a driver, Jahnke spent much of his time driving with nurses to check on Veterans.

“There were areas where you could barely get a small car through because the roads were totally destroyed,” he said, noting that many residents used their own machinery to clear and build roads and provided ATVs and UTVs to reach stranded residents.

“We went to places where Veterans still had like 3 feet of water in their homes, and they’re still living there because they have nowhere else to go.”

While many Veterans said they were thankful that VA was checking on them, their concerns were for their neighbors.

“They were all asking if other people were all right,” Jahnke said. “Even though they were going through this heartache, they wanted to make sure their neighbors were OK.”

Amazing resilience

At the Asheville VA, Jahnke helped with whatever was needed, including cutting up fallen trees and distributing donations for Veterans and staff.

He heard stories of VA employees who were back at work despite losing loved ones in the storm, and a nurse who had just made her first mortgage payment only to see her home washed away.

“And they were at work, making sure Veterans were being taken care of,” he said. “I have so much respect for these people.”

Social worker Nikki Kellerman agreed.

“Many felt blessed to just be alive,” she said. “Even people who had a really traumatizing or horrible experience still found some sort of blessing in the help they were receiving.”

‘My happy place’

The experience was especially moving for Kellerman because she lived in Asheville from 2017 to 2020 and worked at the Asheville VA.

“I call it my happy place,” she said. “It’s a wonderful place to be.”

But when she arrived there in mid-October, she saw firsthand the devastation wrought by Helene.

“It was difficult (to see). That was my former home, so it took a different kind of emotional toll on me,” she said. “But I felt compelled to be there. I wanted to help my former community.”

Due to her history at the Asheville VA, Kellerman helped coordinate with other social workers, matching their skills to needs and acting as a liaison with other program managers. She also helped fill in for employees, many of whom were struggling with their own losses. 

“They just plugged me into whatever vacancies that needed support,” she said, “ensuring employees could go home and take care of themselves and their needs, both emotionally and physically.

“We were offering them an opportunity to get away from the chaos.”

‘Making a positive impact’

Kellerman and Jahnke said 10- to 12-hour days were the norm. In addition, DEMPS volunteers stayed in tiny trailers, with each volunteer provided a small room —maybe 6 feet by 9 feet —with a bed. Shared bathroom facilities were in a different trailer.

Milwaukee VA Police Lt. Joseph Allen became well-acquainted with those trailers during his deployment to Asheville in mid-October because his job was to provide security to the volunteers living there.

During his shifts, he would see other DEMPS volunteers returning from their long days, but he saw nothing but dedication on their faces.

“It seemed like everybody was full. They felt good and were making a positive impact on people,” he said. “Everybody seemed to have the same sunny outlook about what we were doing and why we were there. You’re there to help people; I don’t think anybody lost sight of that.”

As a police officer, Allen is used to seeing people at their worst, in overwhelming situations that have driven them to the brink. But in North Carolina, he saw almost none of that.

“For the most part, everybody understood that this was a hard time for everybody,” he said. “It seemed like everybody just kind of came together. They understood that right now is a time to come together and work as one group.”

Jahnke and Kellerman had the same experience, they said.

“You heard some really sad stuff, but you also heard about the great things the community was doing,” Kellerman said. “People were lifting each other up, and you don’t hear that all the time.”

Happy to help

Kellerman, Jahnke and Allen each spent two weeks in Asheville, they all left with the same sentiment: They were glad they could help, and they would go back in a heartbeat.

“There was a lot of heartache and sadness, wondering if I could have done more,” Jahnke said. “I felt bad that I couldn’t stay longer. It’s on my mind every day.”

“I’m grateful I was able to go,” said Kellerman, who is still helping the Asheville VA remotely, meeting with other social workers before they deploy.

“I tell them to expect the unexpected and to be flexible,” she said. “Be open to doing anything; you’re not necessarily going to be doing your job. Regardless of what your role is, you’re making a huge, positive impact on the staff, the Veterans and the hospital system.”

Allen said he returned to Wisconsin with a full heart and a renewed sense of duty.

“This experience rejuvenated my thoughts and what I do,” he said. “I firmly believe in the mission of the VA; I’ve never lost that. But this just reaffirmed that thought process of why we do what we do and why we’re here. I think everybody should do a DEMPS deployment.”