Training is Crucial for Red Cross Disaster Workers

A major disaster has occurred and while people sift through the wreckage, flattened homes and buildings, help arrives. Picture scores of disaster relief workers scrambling to convert high school gymnasiums, warehouses, auditoriums or other open spaces all over town into temporary emergency shelters to house the victims. Teams of other volunteers walk through the most devastated parts of town assessing the damage. A few miles away, planners pour over a map of the city to determine the most efficient routes for dispatching 30 Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) later that morning. Still others communicate damage reports back to the planners so an ERV does not get stuck or blocked by debris. Meanwhile volunteers work furiously to create what is, for some, the most valuable commodity: the sandwiches and snacks to nourish the displaced and hungry disaster victims.

Damage assessment is one of the skills taught at Red Cross training sessions.

Red Cross disaster services teams work as a cohesive, well-orchestrated unit while performing literally hundreds of tasks. This takes training — lots of training. Because the American Red Cross has been responding to disasters for so long, it has developed detailed and thoroughly tested response plans. Disasters are, of course, chaotic events. This is why it is all the more important to have as much as possible planned ahead of time, and to have fully trained individuals implementing those plans.

To train its ever-growing cadre of volunteers, American Red Cross chapters frequently offer disaster-related instruction. The Northern Virginia and Washington, DC, chapters recently conducted their annual four-day institute designed to fine tune disaster relief procedures and to give new volunteers a taste of what to expect in the aftermath of a tornado, hurricane, earthquake or some other natural (or human-caused) calamity.

ERV drivers are Red Cross certified and must renew their certification every few years.

Despite all the best-laid plans, every disaster brings with it unique circumstances. Therefore, nothing on a disaster operation is taken for granted, and Red Cross trainers want volunteers to be prepared for the unexpected. For example, disaster victims may require the use of an emergency shelter for longer than relief workers anticipated. Sometimes, albeit infrequently, the superintendent requests that the shelter residents be relocated in order to allow classes to resume.

Because there is no better teacher than experience, some courses require instructors to log a certain number of hours of actual experience in a crisis situation before they are permitted to teach.

A small sample of what the information presented at a training institute includes:

• Operating an ERV
• Determining the size, scope and impact of a disaster
• Converting a high school gymnasium into a temporary emergency shelter (and how to turn it back into a high school gymnasium)
• Setting up a disaster service center
• Navigating the forms needed to help victims obtain government aid
• Dealing with a hostile reporter
• Learning new techniques to address mental-health issues unique to disaster response.

Anyone interested in taking Red Cross sponsored disaster training must first take "Introduction to Disasters." This consists of a video and workbook that can be obtained from a local chapter. The video, narrated by actor William Baldwin, presents a broad overview of American Red Cross disaster services.

The experience offered by training institutes, such as the one recently conducted in northern Virginia, can be customized to meet the needs of individual students. On the first day, participants choose from (among other offerings) an introduction to public affairs, a course on developing family-service interviewing skills, or a class on building relationships within a community to help local officials bolster their disaster response measures.

The remainder of the program comprises additional elective courses. Students could learn how to establish relationships with area businesses to obtain in-kind donations; how to deliver quality community disaster education or how to perform various functions at an emergency shelter. Some courses, such as Liaison II: Principles and Practice and Administering a Small Disaster Operation, require previous education and first-hand disaster experience.

A separate track is devoted to international services, such as effective family tracing techniques (to unite families separated by disaster or war); working effectively within different cultures and understanding international humanitarian law.

Keeping track of the thousands of supplies that pass through a relief operation requires special skills.

Red Cross chapter-sponsored institutes will be conducted in 21 states during the first half of 2001. Anyone interested in beginning a career in disaster service would first contact his or her local chapter. The disaster services coordinator for the chapter works with new volunteers to assess their skills and prior experience. The coordinator will suggest courses to match the desire and abilities of the volunteer.

After courses have been completed and some experience has been gained, the volunteer and the chapter disaster services coordinator will determine if the volunteer is ready to expand his or her role. Some of the courses, such as ERV operation require regular renewal.

For those interested in participating in relief operations beyond the chapter level, the Red Cross maintains the Disaster Services Human Resources (DSHR) System. Records of each participant's experience and the courses he or she has taken are stored and maintained in the DSHR database. This enables the Red Cross to match the needs of a particular large-scale disaster with the right people who possess the necessary training.

The American Red Cross is dedicated to helping make families and communities safer at home and around the world. A humanitarian service organization currently operating on a budget of $2.7 billion, the American Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to the victims of more than 63,000 disasters nationwide and has been the primary supplier of lifesaving blood and blood products in the United States for more than 50 years. The American Red Cross also trains more than 11.7 million people in vital lifesaving skills, provides direct health services to 2.5 million people, provides more than 24 million locally relevant community services, assists international disaster and conflict victims in more than 50 countries, and transmits nearly 1.4 million emergency messages between members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. Dr. Bernadine Healy is president and CEO of the American Red Cross. If you would like information on Red Cross services and programs please contact your local Red Cross.