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The weather in King County has been remarkably warm and
dry this winter. No flooding, earthquakes or other disasters to speak
of. So why was there a Red Cross shelter at Microsoft last
weekend?
Because at the Red Cross, we believe in being
prepared. And so for four hours on a Saturday morning, we staged a shelter
simulation exercise for 30 new Ready When
the Time Comes volunteers. These dedicated community members
came to the Red Cross over the past few months through their employers –
Microsoft, Costco and Eagleview Technologies – to serve as a reserve task
force that will be called upon if and when a major local disaster occurs
in western Washington.
New disaster workers experienced what it is
like to set up and run a Red Cross shelter, from processing registration
paperwork to setting up cots and food. Experienced Red Cross shelter
workers supervised the new recruits, working as shift supervisors and
shelter managers, and about a dozen staff and community volunteers acted
as shelter clients, presenting scenarios for the new shelter workers to
solve. Teams from Health Services, Mental Health Services, Logistics and
Public Affairs also participated.
“This is great,” said Shelter
Manager Kathy Brasch, who has worked in a dozen or more Red
Cross shelters over the years. “Usually our volunteers learn in classes
and tabletops. This is a real, unique opportunity.”
Carol Dunn,
who came to the event to play the role of an emotional client, agreed. “I
am so impressed by the quality of the drill, the planning, and the
volunteers. They had me [act as] a Russian-speaking shelter client worried
that I can't find my daughter, but unable to communicate this in English.
[The shelter workers] helped soothe me with tone of voice and behavior…
and called the Language Bank to get an interpreter.”
This was the
first time the Red Cross chapter coordinated an exercise like this, and it
was so successful that plans are already in place for future training
events across the county.
Special thanks to Microsoft, which has
embraced the Ready When the Time Comes Program and donated its facilities
for Saturday’s exercise, and to Tom Albertson, Red Cross Volunteer Shelter
Lead, who put it all together.
To see more pictures from the
event, visit our Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/seattleredcross/
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