Source: Jose Bueno, Regional Preparedness Manager
During an emergency, the Red Cross delivers help to whoever needs it, regardless of citizenship status. The Red Cross doesn’t see cultural or ethnic backgrounds, just a person who needs help.
- As part of our humanitarian mission, the Red Cross will feed, shelter and provide other forms of support without regard to race, religion or citizenship status.
- The Red Cross is a charity, not a government agency, and people who have disaster-caused needs do not need to be American citizens to access Red Cross services.
- The Red Cross will not ask people to show any form of identification in order to stay in our shelters.
- We do ask people staying in our shelters for their names and pre-disaster addresses so that we can track who is using our services.
- In order to receive some Red Cross services, such as meeting with a caseworker to facilitate disaster recovery, we will need to verify a person’s pre-disaster address. For people who don’t have government-issued identification, we can usually do this through alternative means, such as a copy of a utility bill.
