As families of the victims in a church bus crash arrived in Georgia, the Red Cross jumped in to help them.
The Red Cross is making mental health specialists available to the bus victims and their families.
They told Channel 2's Carol Sbarge that the organization is also making sure the families are taken care of while those in area hospitals recover.
Dozens of teens on the church bus were hurt in South Fulton County on Thursday.
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Many of their families traveled from the Huntsville, Alabama, area to Metro Atlanta to join them and the Red Cross came to those families.
“Today, we're concentrating on the families that are here,” said Jim Tudor, a Red Cross worker. “They’re here because their loved ones are here and that’s why we’re here.”
As of Friday afternoon, eight people from the accident were still in hospitals across Atlanta.
They’re at Atlanta Medical Center, Grady Memorial Hospital and Wellstar Kennestone.
The Red Cross told Sbarge that for many of the families, lodging and logistics was the last thing on their minds as they learned of the accident that killed one teenage church member.
“You find yourself in an emergency,” Red Cross member Sherry Nicholson said. “You may not have had time to think about resources. We make sure absolutely everyone had a place to stay last night.”
The pastor of Mount Zion Baptist church in Alabama, where the students were from, is in Atlanta comforting families.
The Red Cross also has volunteers available at the hospitals to offer emotional comfort.
One volunteer was a nurse for 38 years.
“Spiritual needs, physical needs, we can provide them for the immediate time,” Red Cross volunteer Leonza Hudson said.
There are other community groups reaching out to and helping the families from Alabama.
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