Working with local emergency management organizations to coordinate disaster-related activities
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Abstract
Emergency management professionals often see volunteers as a burden and not an asset. By gaining buy-in from the emergency management community, a place for volunteers in disaster preparedness and response can be developed that will benefit the community. The Points of Light Institute (formerly the Points of Light Foundation) submitted this effective practice in October 2006.
Issue
Creating a plan that ensures volunteers will serve effectively with respect to the broader services delivered by emergency management professionals.
Action
According to the Points of Light Institute, there are many ways to gain buy-in with the emergency management community.
Learn the lingo. Learning the language of disaster management shows that you are serious about being involved and understand the issues. A familiarity with your community's hazards, with the National Response Plan (NRP) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) are important since these shape how emergencies are managed. Your local emergency management agency may have materials available. FEMA offers independent study courses that are available online at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/crslist.asp. IS-700 covers NIMS, and IS-800 covers NRP. There are additional courses including IS-7: A Citizen's Guide to Disaster Assistance, IS-288: The Role of Voluntary Agencies in Emergency Management, and IS-292: Disaster Basics.
Know the local professionals in advance of any emergency event. Don't wait until a disaster happens to try and develop relationships and plans. Make an effort to know the local emergency manager and the disaster directors for other voluntary organizations such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army. Knowing these individuals means that in the event of an emergency you know whom to talk to, what their plans are and how you and your volunteers can complement their activities.
Demonstrate how your activities can make the jobs of emergency management easier. The best way to gain buy-in from emergency management professionals is to show that you can make their jobs easier by being a valuable partner and resource instead of a liability. Publicize your capacity and offer to relieve emergency managers of responsibility for volunteer management. This is a task that emergency managers view as a burden, while many voluntary organizations have strengths in volunteer leveraging and management. Invite local emergency managers to a Volunteer Reception Center training so that they can see a demonstration of how you can help them by working together.
Disseminate a consistent message at the federal, state, and local levels. It is important that the public receives a consistent message from the government and nonprofit organizations. This allows for coordination between the different disaster responders and limits confusion for the general public. Talk with your local emergency management about the appropriate message before or after a disaster. This includes information on donating goods and volunteering. Messaging on public safety issues such as evacuation orders should be left to the emergency management officials.
Explore local roles; augment and support the roles of existing agencies. There are already organizations involved in disaster preparedness and response in your community. You can be more effective by tapping into these groups and offering to fill in existing gaps, than by declaring what you want to do. Contact your local Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) organization or Citizen Corps Council to find a niche that your organization can fill within the tapestry of disaster response organizations. Respect the work that is being done by existing disaster stakeholders and focus on how your organizations strengths can add to the this work.
Context
Emergency management requires skills and knowledge that many volunteers may not have. During a disaster, well-intentioned but untrained and unmanaged volunteers can become a liability by distracting emergency manager attention and resources away from disaster victims, becoming injured in the disaster area and requiring assistance or damaging disaster-stricken structures or individuals leading to legal liability. For these reasons, many emergency managers do not want volunteers involved in disasters. However, there are many ways in which volunteers can be effectively engaged in disaster preparedness and response efforts.
Outcome
By engaging the emergency management community, volunteer efforts can be coordinated with government efforts to provide effective service in disaster preparedness and response to your community.
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