UMCOR tip for volunteers: Make 'AIST,' Not Haste
Volunteers thinking of travel to Port Arthur, New Orleans, or Gulfport to help with hurricane relief should think before they act, say disaster response officials at the United Methodist Committee on Relief.
Hurricanes Rita and Katrina swept through these areas Sept. 24 and Aug. 29, erasing whole towns and flooding low-lying areas for miles inland.
Rule Number One: 'Don't become part of the disaster' by just showing up, cautioned Kristin L. Sachen, UMCOR Emergency Services Office head. It pays to act with 'AIST, not haste,' she said. AIST is an acronym that can gbwc_superusere volunteers who want to work effectively in relief efforts.
A-Affiliate with a national disaster response group like UMCOR early response teams or United Methodist Volunteers in Mission.
I-Have a specific Invitation to work. Volunteers who enter a disaster zone without a plan add to the burdens of the community already in trauma.
S-Know where your specific Setting, or assignment, will be. Volunteers can be most effective when they are going to an agreed-upon work area that is ready to receive them and supervise their efforts.
T-Train for response. Those without training may not be equipped to handle the emotional impact of loss and need they will see in hurricane-devastated areas. UMCOR early response teams and leaders of UMVIM teams receive intensive training.
'The work is very physical and mentally challenging,' said Sandy Rowland, conference VIM coordinator. 'We'd advise people to not stay longer than 12 days. You wear out fast.
'It is very important for everyone to follow the process of organizing a team,' she urged. 'You will have to secure an invitation and communicate with your host site. Please do not just organize and go. Many teams doing this are just adding to the disaster already there.'
Every team should have a trained leader with disaster relief experience, no youth at this time and no more than 20 members, all of them insured, said Rowland. Team leaders should notify Rowland if they plan to go, and fill out the application found on the conference VIM Web site:
www.bwvim.org. However, she discourages people from going into disaster stricken areas until the relief phase ends there and the recovery phase begins, perhaps in Jaunary.There may be plenty for volunteers to do in their local churches to support the relief effort. Packing health kits, assembling school kits, boxing up bedding, and arranging for shipment are critical tasks early in an emergency response.'The greatest gaps for volunteers to fill often happen after the cameras stop rolling,' said the Rev. Mary Gaudreau, UMCOR consultant from the Oklahoma Annual Conference. That may mean later in the long-term recovery process-allowing dedicated volunteers to get the training they need to be effective responders.
Visit the conference VIM Web site at www.bwvim.org, or contact Sandy Rowland, conference VIM coordinator, at or 304-725-5712 for more information.
Cash gifts will help UMCOR continue to support work of volunteers, annual conferences and interfaith response efforts in the Gulf Coast disaster area as well as other vulnerable regions of the world. Checks can be mailed to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. One hundred percent of every donation to any appeal, including the Hurricane Rita appeal, UMCOR Advance #901323, goes to support recovery efforts in the disaster-stricken regions.
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