Throughout the concept of Emergency Management one of the most important elements is the coordination of support. I believe that instead of recreating informational disaster techniques that we should make use of existing models. The one key organization that has been perfecting this skill for years is the American Red Cross. Their role in a disaster is much more advanced than the average person may think. Typically they are known for their primary function of sheltering and feeding, but they cover a wide variety of tasks. Being a Non-Profit Organization, a key component of their successful operation is the ability to fundraise and have outstanding public relations. For this group to even function they must physically go out into the community and get the general public involved and educated. This organization contains a pool of some of most disaster educated and devoted volunteers that consistently participate in helping the community.

            The whole premise of my proposal relies on the idea of creating a system that better coordinates the activities of disaster organizations and the local government. Instead of taking different routes to achieving the same goals, we should coordinate training and outreach activities. Both entities have their own training methods for the community and many courses cover the same material. This being the case I feel that it would greatly benefit all parties if there was an effort made to recognize the multiple training courses. Now considering the outreach aspects, the American Red Cross does several community outreach events and presentations yearly and uses the whole month of March for their cause. So I believe that if the local governments became more involved in the efforts of this organization it would help with the preparation of our communities before disaster strikes.

            As we all know a majority of the Emergency Management knowledge for communities is on the county level. My familiarity of working with both Non-Profit and government sides I have seen the different levels of interaction. Typically the smaller counties are more involved in Red Cross activities which in my opinion the coordination creates a well trained and prepared community. In the end the American Red Cross and the local governments are two biggest entities involved in their communities’ disaster preparedness and they should coordinate strong efforts to support the community-based activities to help everyone be more prepared. “We need partnerships, we need members of the team and we consider the volunteer and faith-based communities one of the most important elements of that team” (https://www.fema.com/medialibrary/media_records/3307/transcripts/3088). This quote shows how significant it is for each agency to synchronize their efforts in protecting and informing the community. In conclusion, we should utilize the educational tactics that other disaster organizations can provide in helping our citizens better prepare for a catastrophe.

Reference

 Fugate, Craig, FEMA and Red Cross sign Memorandum of Agreement. https://www.fema.com/medialibrary/media_records/3307/transcripts/3088