Right now, I am living through my first fire tour as a Red Cross disaster volunteer! (I'm not really sure why they call it a "tour", but that is what the sign-up says so I thought I would use it. Every night this week starting at 4:30pm until 8am the next morning I will be on call to respond to fires. If one occurs, I will be called and I'll travel to the location of the fire and help the other volunteers as they give the clients blankets and comfort kits and help them fill out paperwork so the clients can get their "credit" card to purchase food, shelter, and clothing.
Anyway, I'm super nervous! I understand what has to be done (I think), but I'm so nervous for emotions that will probably occur if/when I meet a family who has lost part of their home/their whole home in a fire (or any disaster really). But, I'm ready to help whomever may need us.
This article (Home Fires Are Biggest Disaster Threat) was posted today! How did the Red Cross know that I would be posting about fires tonight. Whoa.
April 30, 2012
April 1, 2012
Becoming a Disaster Volunteer
After I visited Joplin, MO, saw the tornado damage, and started working at the Red Cross I decided that I wanted to become a disaster volunteer. So in late February, I started my disaster volunteer training (Happy Belated Red Cross Month!). I wanted to become a disaster volunteer because I have heard a lot about the services that the Red Cross offers to disaster victims and I wanted to be a part of this amazing service. I want to be there for those victims of disaster to help meet their immediate needs (food, shelter, and clothing)
The initial disaster volunteer training is made up of six free courses. (With more specialized training available after the initial classes are completed). The classes are taught by different disaster volunteers and topics include an overview, assessing home damage (which determines how much aid the Red Cross can give), casework (paperwork dealing with aid), and sheltering. Anyone over 18 years old can become a disaster volunteer.
I am now able to respond to local disasters (fires/floods) as well as national disasters. I've already signed-up be "on call" with a fire team (Disaster Action Team) for evenings of two different weeks this spring. If there is a fire while I'm on call, the fire department will call the Red Cross and then the Red Cross dispatcher will call me and tell me to go to the fire and then we meet the fire victims and help them with food, clothing, and shelter. We will give them blankets/homemade quilts and comfort kits and a listening ear.
Soon, I will be a part of the national database of Red Cross disaster volunteers that is used when a large disaster occurs. When a large disaster occurs the Red Cross goes to the database and calls volunteers to do the jobs that they need filled. I get to say what I would like to do as a volunteer and they try to match those preferences with what they need at that time. Those deployments last at least three weeks.
I'm obviously hoping for no disasters anytime soon, but I'm excited to help people in a time of crisis and use the training that I've gained someday.
The initial disaster volunteer training is made up of six free courses. (With more specialized training available after the initial classes are completed). The classes are taught by different disaster volunteers and topics include an overview, assessing home damage (which determines how much aid the Red Cross can give), casework (paperwork dealing with aid), and sheltering. Anyone over 18 years old can become a disaster volunteer.
I am now able to respond to local disasters (fires/floods) as well as national disasters. I've already signed-up be "on call" with a fire team (Disaster Action Team) for evenings of two different weeks this spring. If there is a fire while I'm on call, the fire department will call the Red Cross and then the Red Cross dispatcher will call me and tell me to go to the fire and then we meet the fire victims and help them with food, clothing, and shelter. We will give them blankets/homemade quilts and comfort kits and a listening ear.
Soon, I will be a part of the national database of Red Cross disaster volunteers that is used when a large disaster occurs. When a large disaster occurs the Red Cross goes to the database and calls volunteers to do the jobs that they need filled. I get to say what I would like to do as a volunteer and they try to match those preferences with what they need at that time. Those deployments last at least three weeks.
I'm obviously hoping for no disasters anytime soon, but I'm excited to help people in a time of crisis and use the training that I've gained someday.
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