Are ya bored? Well, are ya? Then have I got just the thing for you, to rid yourself of those springtime doldrums and let you do something important for your community.
In case you hadn't heard, the Red Cross Disaster Services program is in the process of completely remaking itself. And each response team is going to need a lot more people as a result.
For those of us here in Mississippi County, a team is forming now that will serve Mississippi County. If needed, those volunteers who so wish and are so trained can be deployed to assist with disasters in other areas, but if you are a volunteer in this county, your primary responsibility will be to help your friends and neighbors in this county when disaster strikes.
However, the local disaster response team is taking it a step further. A separate Disaster Action Team, which is the type of team that responds to residential fires, is being formed in each community. That means Leachville, Joiner, Armorel and all the other communities will have their own immediate response team right there in town to come to the aid of its residents should a home or apartment complex catch on fire and the residents need emergency aid.
There are basically three different teams being formed, and volunteers are needed from all parts of Mississippi County for all three teams. The first is the DAT team, which I just mentioned. These teams, however, will be the first responders for the Red Cross in their respective communities for any type of disaster, so they will be part of a larger group of volunteers, who will be collectively trained as the county Red Cross Disaster Response Team.
These folks may be trained in one of a large variety of areas, including care and feeding of people who have been forced to leave their homes as a result of disaster; disaster assessment, or those folks who go out into the affected areas and determine exactly how much damage has been done and where that damage is located; people to keep track of shelter facilities, supplies and other logistical duties; financial documentation and record keeping; and staff services, or keeping track of the responding Red Cross volunteers and seeing to their needs. Huge numbers of volunteers are needed for these volunteer positions, as well as things like answering phones and running errands.
The third group of volunteers that is desperately needed in all areas of the county is the medical and mental health professionals. Nurses are being actively recruited now, but physicians and certified clinicians in both fields are in dire need.
The great thing about these teams is that it doesn't matter if you are a young person who wants to go into the thick of things as soon as they happen, or a crusty old lady like myself who can do certain things as long as I can work from my home. There is a great need now for volunteers with all skill types and all types of schedules. If you can work Friday from 3-5 a.m., you are needed. If you can work from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, we need you.
In order to participate in this exciting new program, however, you must be trained and attend monthly meetings. In the past people could just show up at a shelter during a disaster and help out with a few simple things, or come in to the chapter office during a response, take a quick class or two and go right back out and work in a shelter. Those days are long gone.
Anyone wishing to participate, or to learn more about becoming a Red Cross Disaster Response Team member in Mississippi County in any capacity is urged to contact one of the following people as soon as possible to see where you would be happiest helping out in the aftermath of disasters:
For the county Disaster Response Team, contact Penny Sanders through the Blytheville chapter office of the Northeast Arkansas Chapter American Red Cross at 870-763-4481.
For the community-specific DAT fire response teams, contact Joyce Austin at te42@yahoo.com .
If you are a nurse or other medical or mental health professional, contact Connie Ash at 870-740-1532.
Training is taking place at this time, and meetings are ongoing. As always, if you prefer to contact me for more information, you may do so through the email address at the end of this column. I will be looking forward to working with all of you in the near future as part of the county Red Cross Disaster Response team.
plenbooks@live.com