Mid-Michigan Chapter
1800 E. Grand River Avenue
Lansing, MI 48912
www.midmichiganredcross.org
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Contact: Rachelle Wood
Phone: (517) 702-3336
Fax: (517) 484-3799
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Be there for your community.
Be the response in an emergency.
Be a Disaster Services volunteer at the Red Cross.
Be a hero.
Thank you for your interest in becoming a Disaster Services volunteer for the Mid-Michigan Chapter. We look forward to working with you to help meet the mission of the American Red Cross in helping people prevent, prepare for, and respond to disasters and other emergencies.
Disaster Services responses are designed around eight groups. These groups are:
- Individual Client Services
- Information Management Support Services
- Mass Care
- Material Support Services
- Partner Services
- Operations Management
- Organization Support
- Staff Services
Each of these groups is further divided into activities such as sheltering, public affairs, feeding, training, and transportation. There are 37 activities. Within each activity there are four positions – service associates (entry-level), supervisors (supervise service associates), managers (technical experts for the
activity), and administrators (oversee and supervise all activities within a group). Depending upon the group, activity, or position, there may be other courses that are required. Please refer to the Disaster Services course catalog, available in the Disaster Services office, for more information. It is expected that every Disaster Services volunteer will review and abide by all policies and procedures relating to the activity(ies) and position(s) to which they are assigned.
In addition to responding to disasters, there are several other tasks and activities that a Disaster Services volunteer can do. Help is always needed in the Disaster Services office to help handle daily tasks such as phone-calls, scheduling and setting up for classes, maintaining and managing the inventory of disaster response supplies, providing training, attending community meetings, planning, setting up and updating shelter agreements, helping with disaster preparedness presentations, etc…
If you have not provided an email address to the Disaster Services office, it is highly recommended that you do so. Most communication occurs via email. If you do not have an email address and would like help setting one up, please contact the Disaster Services office for assistance. If you do not want to have an email address, there is a Disaster Services Hotline (517-484-7461 ex. 179) available. The Hotline provides information on upcoming meetings, trainings, and
other events. In times of disaster, it is also used to communicate volunteer needs and information regarding the response. However, email is the primary tool used to communicate during disasters and non-disaster times alike.
There are quarterly Disaster Services meetings. These are for all Disaster Services volunteers. It is required that all Disaster Services volunteers attend at least two of these meetings per year and, if unable to attend a meeting, contact the Disaster Services office to receive any necessary information and updates. All Disaster Services volunteers must also complete the necessary paperwork and health review form to be entered into the Disaster Services Human Resources (DSHR) system. This system is a database used to coordinate and manage all American Red Cross Disaster Services volunteers nationwide.
Within their first year all Disaster Services Volunteers must complete:
- Fulfilling Our Mission: Translating Your Compassion into Community Action (pre-requisite for all disaster courses) (3 hours)
- Mass Care: An Overview (pre-requisite for Shelter Operations) (4 hours)
- Shelter Operations (pre-requisite for Shelter Simulation) (4 hours)
- Shelter Simulation (4 hours)
- Client Casework: Providing Emergency Assistance (8 hours)
- Disaster Assessment Basics (3 hours)
- FEMA 100 (online self-study)
- FEMA 700 (online self-study)
It is highly recommended that all Disaster Services Volunteers also complete:
Once a Disaster Services volunteer has completed the Fulfilling Our Mission and Client Casework courses, he/she is eligible to be placed on a Disaster Action Team (DAT). DAT members primarily respond to disasters affecting single-families, such as a house fire. They work to ensure that the families’ basic, emergency, disaster-caused needs, such as food, clothing, shelter, life-sustaining prescription medications, and crisis support counseling, are met. On average, the Mid-Michigan Chapter responds to a disaster once every three days. DAT members are on-call one week a month. DAT meetings are held quarterly – it is required that DAT members either attend these meetings or contact their team coordinator in advance of the meeting to ensure they receive all of the necessary information and updates. Please refer to the DAT manual, available
in the Disaster Services Office, for further information and requirements for DAT members.
A Disaster Services volunteer may choose to not be a DAT member and to only respond to larger local disasters such as apartment fires, floods, and tornadoes. On average, the Mid-Michigan Chapter responds to a disaster of this size approximately three times a year. Call-outs for these types of events occur primarily via email.
A Disaster Services volunteer may choose to respond and travel to national disasters such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and tornadoes. To be eligible for national disaster response deployment, a Disaster Services volunteer must complete all necessary training, be available to be deployed for three weeks, and be in good health. In addition to the aforementioned, there are other requirements depending upon the activity, the type of disaster, and the location of the disaster. Please refer to the DSHR member manual for further information and requirements. A Disaster Services volunteer must be active at the chapter (assist on projects, attend trainings and/or meetings, assist with fundraising/visibility events, respond to local disasters, etc…) in order to be eligible for national deployment.
Again – thank you for your interest in volunteering with the Mid-Michigan Chapter Disaster Services!
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