Disaster shelter needs leaders

SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Help is needed in case we need to open a disaster shelter in Springfield, Vermont. The American Red Cross and the Precision Valley Disaster COAD (Community Organizations Assisting in Disaster) are holding a training session for people interested in helping as shelter managers and assistant managers if and when a shelter is opened in Springfield, Vermont. The training will be held in the conference room of the Springfield Fire Department from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 22. Kerri Foley, Disaster Program Manager for the American Red Cross, New Hampshire and Vermont region, is arranging for the trainers. Interested people can call George Keeler, Volunteer Coordinator at 1-888-863-2815.

The Precision Valley Disaster Recovery COAD (PVDRC) currently has three trained shelter managers and assistant managers, however it would be desired to have 6 to 8 people trained as shelter managers. The goal is to be able to staff three 8 hour shifts instead of two 12 hour shifts for the managers and assistant managers. Having a couple of spare people trained is also good in case some of the trained people are out of town for vacations or are unavailable for other regions. The hurricane season goes from June to November and is one of the key times when flooding occurs and people are on vacation. Even in the case of winter ice storms, some of the trained leaders may be out of town for vacations in warmer areas.

The PVDRC was formed after hurricane Irene to provide case management support to people who were affected by the storm. The case managers helped people formulate action plans, apply for grants, and find contractors and volunteers to help them in their recovery. During the time between disasters, the PVDRC recruits and trains volunteers, and also updates volunteer and partner organization contact information to be prepared for the next disaster. The PVDRC can be contacted through their website at sites.google.com/site/pvdisasterrecovery, through their phone tree at 1-888-863-2815, and their email at [email protected].