North Georgia Conference Disaster Response Ministry

MISSION & ROLE

United Methodist Church

Power workers remove ice and tree branches from power cables. Photo by John Shea FEMA News Photo
 

 

VISION AND MISSION:

Mission:  To respond to disasters here as well as in other areas with the purpose of giving help, hope, and healing to victims of disasters.  We administer these ministries in the spirit of Jesus Christ, preserving the dignity of person without regard to religion, race, nationality, or gender, and seek to enhance the quality of life in the human community.

ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY:

It is our role to provide opportunities for United Methodist to reach out to others in their despair and provide them help from the time of the disaster until all the rebuild work is complete.

  • To train each volunteer in what to expect, what to take, and to perform the tasks safely.
  • To train disaster teams in site inspection, chain saw, clearing debris, tarping, and limited repairs.
  • To train rebuild teams in the oddities of construction
  • To train shelter teams in the care and feeding shelter residents
  • To train disaster childcare workers in the care of children and helping them to cope with the trauma of disaster.
  • To train feeding teams in cooking in the field for large numbers of people
  • To encourage volunteers to seek CERT training.
  • To train team leaders in various administrative, legal, and leadership aspects.
  • To assist churches in evaluating their ability to house teams; shelter victim;, address special needs people; distribute water, food, and diapers; and meet other needs of the community in disaster.
  • To provide local teams with additional training and events to retain their team membership.
  • To provide conference leadership with inter-conference and UMCOR training
  • To assist churches in preparing for a variety of disaster risks including the possibility of the avian influenza.
  • To develop and maintain a communication structure for fast communication of community disasters within the conference, whether to our churches, our membership, or others in the community.
  • To provide a mechanism for onsite administration of the disaster from the local church.
  • To maintain a conference and district structure to support local teams.
  • To activate a local command structure to address the relief stage of the disaster.
  • To assist GAVOAD and other agencies in developing and supporting the long-term recovery organization and caseworkers for the recovery stage.
  • To maintain a effective website for communications to the volunteer and the church.   
  • To maintain the tool trailers and shower/laundry trailer in a ready state
  • To build trailers for childcare and other needs.
  • To maintain supplies for the disaster-flood buckets, tarps, etc.
  • To set organizational goals and vision.

RESOURCES:

Budget funding is provided by the conference and covers three areas: training, storage for supplies, and tools.  Construction of trailers is funded through donations.  Oftentimes, when churches have a team there is funding raising there to support the tools and the trailer to hold the tools and gear on a disaster work trip.                                              

 

 


 Last Update:  10/14/2008    © Copyright North Georgia Conference. All Rights Reserved.     |  CONTACT US  |  SITE MAP  |  FAQ