How YOU Can Respond to Disaster In Your Community
DID YOU KNOW??
The Salvation Army offers Emergency Disaster Services (EDS) training to its Officers, staff and volunteers?
In efforts to be best prepared for any type of natural disaster or emergency crisis, The Salvation Army offers an EDS training several times through-out the year for anyone that wishes to serve alongside The Salvation Army in the case of a disaster.
Once trained, the EDS trainers will assess your strengths and suggest a position that best suits you based on the 9 Key Function Components.
Every incident or disaster event has certain major management activities or actions that must be performed. Even if the disaster is small, and only one or two people are involved, these activities will always apply to some degree.
These actions performed are broken down into 9 Key Function Components:
- Incident Command: Sets objectives and priorities; has overall responsibility for supervising the incident or event.
- Public Information: Communicates with media and others seeking information about the disaster operation.
- Liaison: Serves as The Salvation Army's point-of-contact with other disaster relief agencies.
- Safety: Ensures the safety and security of all disaster personnel.
- Emotional and Spiritual Care: Provides emotional and spiritual support to those affected by the disaster.
- Operations: Manages all direct service activities.
- Logistics: Secures and manages the resources, including supplies and equipment necessary to support the operation.
- Finance & Administration: Manages records and reports, personnel and volunteers, and accounting for the operation.
- Planning: Develops an action plan to accomplish operational objectives, collects and evaluates information.
These Key Functions are effective regardless of the size, type or complexity of the event. Once you are assigned your position, you can volunteer to ‘deploy' (a term you learn in your Introduction to EDS training) for any local or major disaster.
Our EDS staff keeps you up-to-date on any type of disaster locally, state-wide and nationally. They have their own monitoring systems and work closely with weather and news experts to give you the most warning and information when disaster strikes.
Disaster is not always predictable and often comes without enough warning or any warning at all. While families live comfortably in their daily lives, The Salvation Army's EDS team works day in and day out to ensure they are best prepared for any disaster crisis that may occur in any of our local communities across our division.
When you become a part of the EDS team, you become a part of a bigger mission and learn to serve others beyond circumstance.
To learn more, or become a Salvation Army EDS team member, visit:
https://disaster.salvationarmyusa.org