One month after TMO leaders and clergy publicly questioned why Red Cross Immediate Assistance funds were denied to thousands of families that met the criteria, the CEO of Red Cross Texas Gulf Division resigned among criticisms about undelivered aid.  Within days, top leadership from Red Cross met with TMO to ensure that aid will be delivered to families in need.

One month ago, Helen Mott, a parishioner at Our Mother of Mercy, was denied $400 in cash assistance from  Red Cross even though she had had to evacuate her uninhabitable home.  Because  Red Cross offered one of the few cash assistance resources available at the time, TMO organized a press conference at New Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, calling on them to ensure that families who needed these funds most would receive them.

At that press conference, TMO leader Charles Turner asked Red Cross to "take an extra step and work with community groups like ours and open up lines of communication so we can help people during this recovery process."

Red Cross is now responding to that challenge and expressing willingness to coordinate efforts with TMO.  Red Cross estimates that approximately 1.5 million families might have been wrongfully denied and is now working to ensure that families that qualify for assistance receive the aid they need.