1. Disaster Preparedness and Response
A Ministry of the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Methodist Church
Hello and welcome. I would like to spend the next few minutes talking with you about an important ministry of our church, disaster preparedness and response. 1

2. What is a Disaster?
A disaster is a specific event which results in overwhelming physical, economic and/or emotional damage
Significant harm to people & property
Disrupts normal pattern of living
Overwhelms a community’s ability to respond
Can affect one person, a family, a community or a region
I would like to start with a brief discussion of disaster. What is a disaster? These are a few characteristics of a disaster. Can you name some types of disaster. Besides “natural” disasters there are many that are “human caused”. Examples are toxic spills, terrorism, industrial accidents, mass shootings.

3. Phases of a Disaster
When looking at an individual disaster, it is important to note that there are several phases that the disaster and the survivors go through. Each is much different in what assistance is needed and what resources are used. A rule of thumb to use is to multiply the number of days that the rescue phase took times 10 and that will give you some idea of the number of days tha the relief phase will take. Multiply that by 10 and you will get the number of days that the recovery phase will take.

4. Our Calling Our mission is to be the transformation the world needs.
Disaster Ministry allows us to live our faith in ways that can transform communities
We can do this by building competent local strength
Attracting, training and managing our volunteers
Preparing our families, churches and communities to be better prepared for disaster
By being true to our collective mission
With that background lets talk a little bit about us, the United Methodist Church. What is our ministry? Disaster allows us the opportunity to live our faith in ways that can transform our communities. We can best do this by building our capacity at the local level in these ways.

5. United Methodist Disaster Ministry
Disaster preparation and response begins with the local church
District Disaster Coordinators
Local Connections
Conference Disaster Preparedness and Response Committee
Programs
UMCOR
Programs/Training/Funding
Community
VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster)
This ministry starts right here with the local church. In each district we have disaster coordinators, local connections to provide information, training opportunities and coordinate efforts when disaster strikes. At the conference level we have a DP&R committee that helps to develop and coordinate programs, and works with UMCOR to help with support, funding, grants or training. A bit of aside about UMCOR. This is a tremendous organization well known and respected across the disaster community. The ability to say that you are with UMCOR gives you instant credibility in times of disaster. Also, our disaster ministry extends into the community. We are very active in the local, state and national chapters of VOAD and this allows us to work together with other faith based organizations, non-profits and governmental entities to coordinate our efforts in times of disaster as well as develop plans and training to prepare for disaster.

6. Conference Disaster Programs
Connecting Neighbors
Family and Church Preparedness
Community Involvement
Early Response Teams (ERT)
Active During Relief Phase
Disaster Spiritual Care (DSC)
Provide Spiritual Care During Response and Recovery Phases
Volunteers in Mission Teams (UMVIM)
Work Teams to Help Recovery
There are several disaster preparedness and response programs that are offered through the conference that you can become involved in. They are as follows: Connecting Neighbors, ERT, DSC, UMVIM. We will talk a bit more about the first three.

7. Connecting Neighbors
Inspiring members, churches and communities to be:
Better able to minimize disaster-caused harm to people and property
Respond to our neighbors in helpful, cooperative and caring ways on behalf of the church and in the spirit of Jesus Christ.
Let’s start with CN. This is the program that is focused on the individual church and the church members. Are you, your family, your fellow church members and your church prepared for a disaster. Is your church ready to help your neighbors and your community if a disaster should occur? This program helps you answer yes to these questions.

8. Connecting Neighbors
Module 1: Ready Congregants focuses on preparing individuals and families to be disaster-ready.
Module 2: Ready Churches emphasizes the importance of protecting church property and the people within the property, before and immediately following a disaster, and of appropriate use of church property in disaster response.
Module 3: Ready Response encourages churches to explore their capacity for various disaster response ministries and to consider ways to engage community partners.
UMCORs CN program is divided into three areas: 1) tips for preparedness for self and family 2) ideas for preparing and protecting church property and use of the church as a shelter during disaster response and 3) guide for integrating the church in partnership with the local community. The program is flexible and can be presented in three segment to different audiences.

9. ERT Program Provide the caring presence of the church
Help prevent further damage by:
Tarp roofs and other openings in homes
Remove debris
Clean out flooded homes- always with permission!
Help with donations management
Help gather information
Next I would like to give a brief overview of the ERT program. This program helps churches or groups of churches build teams to help during the relief phase of a disaster. Training courses can be scheduled through the conference.
Most important task is listening. All other work stops if survivor needs time to talk. Other tasks are to make homes safe, sanitary and secure – NO repairs, just stabilization

10. ERT Teams 7 People on Team Roles: Each Person Works Team Leader
Assistant Team Leader
Logistics
Base Camp manager
Equipment manager
Safety Officer
Listener/Team Recorder
Each team member has primary area of focus. All members are responsible for safety of themselves and others. All members share the listening role too. Actual duties vary depending on site considerations, for example, lodging may be at church facility or motel. Meals may be furnished by local volunteers or obtained at restaurants. Each disaster is different and so are situations the team will encounter

11. ERT Program Direction Establish teams across conference
Recruit team members, ensuring backup capability
Provide training for each team
Teams will deploy quarterly on projects
Badges and T-Shirts will be issued at end of training
Each team will be equipped with trailer/tools/equipment
New emphasis on have ERTs serving on assigned teams rather than a pool of trainer individuals. Recruitment to have backup capability. Teams will work on UMVIM or local projects to stay active and learn to work together so they are more effective in time of disaster. Goal is for each team to be equipped with trailer and tools. Funding may come from UMCOR or RM Conference sources or team may conduct local efforts. Each team needs to assign responsibility for storage, routine maintenance and upkeep and to arrange for truck and driver and for licensing.

12. Disaster Spiritual Care Program
Program Principles:
Offer presence and hospitality to any persons affected by a disaster
Meet, accept, and respect persons exactly as they are
Do No Harm—Never evangelize, proselytize or exploit persons in vulnerable need
Work in Partnership with other DSC providers
Local spiritual care providers and communities of faith are the primary resources for post-disaster spiritual care
UMCOR
Disaster spiritual care is an essential part of helping survivors recover from a disaster. Spiritual care providers provide a specialized service and are usually trained as pastors, counselors or chaplains.

13. Disaster Spiritual Care Program
Adopt the COVOAD DSC Program
Conforms to NVOAD Guidelines and Points of Consensus
Provides Credentialing and Certification Recognized by Emergency Managers
Offers Training for DSC Providers
Provides DSC Services in a Variety of Settings
The COVOAD DSC program has been developed in partnership with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the state of Colorado Division of Homeland Security. The credentialing process uses the Colorado Volunteer Mobilizer program which provides background checks and issues badges. DSC providers are recognized by emergency managers as authorized to enter disaster sites. A training curriculum has been developed and trainers are available to conduct training. DSC providers will deploy as part of a two person team with behavioral health specialists from the CDPHE.

14. Your Calling Our mission is to be the transformation the world needs.
Disaster Ministry allows us to live our faith in ways that can transform communities
How you/your church can be involved:
Prayer & Donations
Schedule Connecting Neighbors training
Consider becoming a member of an ERT team
Build UMCOR Kits
Participate on an UMVIM Teams
Your commitment to this ministry is vital to helping those who are affected by a disaster to recover. Survivors as well as care givers need to be considered in this process. There are many ways you can participate. Thanks for your involvement and for your caring.

15. Disaster Preparedness and Response
A Ministry of the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Methodist Church 15