Bed-Stuy’s Own Volunteer Ambulance Corps on the Ground in Haiti
- Saturday, January 23, 2010, 15:32
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- 3 comments
“First on the Scene” is the motto of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and they earned it when founders Rocky Robinson and Joe Perez were working without an ambulance running with oxygen tanks strapped to their backs in the organization’s fledgling days in 1988. And now in response to the Haiti earthquake, “Nobody expected us to even come close to what we have been able to do”, said an energized Rocky Robinson. “I woke up and I said I’ve trained thousands of paramedics and EMT’s and I sent out the word that we needed everybody who ever came through the BSVAC to come back now.”
It was through this network that a former member who knew Wyclef Jean told him what the BSVAC was doing, and through that connection and the Church of Scientology chartered a plane and 44 rapid-response volunteer medics, nurses and doctors left Kennedy Airport Saturday afternoon, landed at Port-au-Prince and went directly to the hospital where they cleaned the area and set up an emergency room. “They’ve set 300 fractures, delivered three babies and started IVs.”
Robinson says that hundreds of people are coming to join the Bed-Stuy Volunteer Ambulance Corps to help in this effort.
“We’re like Haiti”, Rocky said, “we’re the poorest volunteer ambulance corps but we know how to work with nothing.” And when it comes to providing relief in Haiti, “We do more with a penny than others do with a dollar.”
“People are lying on the bricks right now,” says Robinson and BSVAC is putting “the help where the hurt is. The Red Cross does good work, but we’re the Black Cross and every second counts.”
Lifesaving flights like these can take off on faith but they need money for medical supplies, food and water. Donations can be made at www.bsvac.org .
David Mark Greaves
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David Mark Greaves has written 104 posts on this blog.
3 Comments on “Bed-Stuy’s Own Volunteer Ambulance Corps on the Ground in Haiti”
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Can you ask Rocky Robinson what has the former member who knew Wyclef Jean or Wyclef Jean himself or Yele Haiti actually provided. I know the Church of scientology has been financing all the flights with its own money.
Rocky Robinson has been putting out some conflicting reports himself.
BSVAC WebSite;
BSVAC has sent its first group of volunteers to Haiti. They arrived on Sunday, 1/17/10. A group of over 100 EMTs and a dozen doctors — including 44 BSVAC volunteers –have been sent to Haiti; 90 of these trained medical personnel are originally from Haiti — they speak the language, are familiar with the culture/geography, and have hit the ground running. Already they have provided emergency medical care to countless patients; they have also set hundreds of fractures and delivered 10 babies (at last count).
Fact: The actual number was of EMT’s was 44 not 100’s of EMT’s. Here is an excerpt from the NY Daily News Story.
When news of last week’s catastrophic earthquake in Haiti reached Commander James (Rocky) Robinson and his group of Bedford-Stuyvesant emergency medical technicians, they knew they had to go.
“We’ve got (44) members down there now,” said Robinson, 69, co-founder and president of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BSVAC). Noting that BSVAC spent its last $20,000 equipping the volunteers who flew to Port-au-Prince this weekend, Robinson said: “We’re probably the poorest volunteer corps in the nation.” The group of BSVAC nurses, doctors and EMTs took off in a chartered plane that left Kennedy Airport Saturday afternoon. They landed just over four hours later, going straight to General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, where they have been working nonstop since
Mr. Robinson claims on his website over 100 EMT’s arrived Sunday January 17, 2010. But in the NY Daily News story above he claims they left Saturday and four hours later they went straight to work. Which one is it?
FACT: The 44 EMT’s didn’t arrive in Haiti in four hours. They flew to Miami spent the night there and continued on to Haiti the following day. They didn’t go straight to General Hospital in Port-au-Prince four hours after the flight left.
Robinson Claims he spent Bedford-Stuyvesant’s last $20,000 to equip the volunteers that flew to Haiti.
NY Daily News Story;
“We’ve got (44) members down there now,” said Robinson, 69, co-founder and president of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps (BSVAC). Noting that BSVAC spent its last $20,000 equipping the volunteers who flew to Port-au-Prince this weekend, Robinson said: “We’re probably the poorest volunteer corps in the nation.”
FACT: Robinson hasn’t spent a dollar and has been taking in tens of thousands in donations since the earthquake. In addition Robinson has been charging his current members and all thoughs who have come to volunteer at BSVAC in response to the earthquake membership fees to volunteer. These fees include ID card and uniform. Most of the EMT’s that went to Haiti took thier own equipment with them
The members of BSVAC should be commended for their service in Haiti and to the residents of our community. Robinson on the other hand should be ashamed of himself for using this tragity to line his pockets with donations meant for the Haitian relief.
OPEN THE BOOKS ROBINSON. SHOW THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY HOW BSVAC’S LAST $20,000 WAS SPENT TO EQUIP VOLUNTEERS GOING TO HAITI. FULL DISCLOSER AND ACCOUNTABLITY!
For the record the thing Rocky Robinson did for the community is amazing First of all u cant name 1 member who had to pay for the uniform to go to haiti.Everybody always watching rockys money if anything the corps owe rocky money,Rocky takes money out his own account to finance the corp.Stop watching someone else and do things that can make ur life better hater and for the 20,000 dollars we in the hole that comes from giving uniforms out to people who dont appreciate it.People always try to bring someone down never talk about how he did get people over there and treated over a thousand…..
Wow well said, however, although some of your facts are accurate you are sadly mistaking. A lot of times people look too deep into things when the problem is at the surface. Ask yourself why did Bed Stuy even have to ask for donations to get to Haiti in the 1st place, how were they able to help send 44 or 100 medical providers and do you really think uniforms and id cards are free to Bed Stuy??? Ask any long term member of Bed Stuy did they have to pay for their uniform and Id cards…. For God stake even the NYPD have to pay for they uniforms when they join. Make no mistake every cent collected went right to the cause. Any volunteer that was there got a receipt and seen Mr. Robinson calling dollar van to transport the vollies to JFK and much more. Do remember the press write their story and print it quick for the next morning so sorry we couldn’t update them ASAP about flight delays and closing of open window times to land in Haiti. The best part of this all is the internet and press can paint whatever picture they want so thank you for your support