Red Cross aids Napa quake victims to rebuild lives

NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- Many people are seeking help at the Marriott Hotel in Napa from the American Red Cross. The Red Cross says the whole idea is to help earthquake victims come up with a plan to rebuild their lives.

Yvette Hollie of Vallejo has been splitting her time between shelters and a relative's home since last week's 6.0 earthquake. Her apartment was red-tagged and there's no chance of moving back. Workers with the American Red Cross gave her a debit card to help with food, clothes and gas, but the guidance they gave her to find a new apartment was what she found most helpful.

"I just want a place, you know. I want my space back. I want my own place back. I want to be able to go home and be myself," Hollie said.

More than a hundred earthquake victims came to the Napa Valley Marriott Hotel for the first day of the American Red Cross emergency assistance center where workers assess what type of help each person may need, whether it be financial or mental.

"People are still expressing concerns about trauma and we hope that when they leave here, they have a better sense of where to go for help," Kathleen Maclay from the American Red Cross said.

Linda Jean Folline is hoping for financial assistance to repair her red-tagged 1904 Victorian. She was in Alaska on her honeymoon when the earthquake struck. Now that she's back, she finds herself in unfamiliar territory.

"I'm accustomed to helping other people. I'm not accustomed to helping myself. I just know that I'm under a lot of stress and the sooner that my house is put back together and I can get back in it, the happier I'm going to be," Folline said.

The emergency assistance center will be open every day for as long as necessary.