Emergency volunteer network develops new efforts

April 15--When a disaster strikes Daviess County, the local Emergency Management Office taps a coalition of churches and volunteers to organize aid and distribute supplies, but they aren't stopping there.

Volunteers Organized to Assist in Disasters, or VOAD, has a name that is self-explanatory in some ways, but the scope of assistance its network of volunteers provide will be growing this year.

Carl Sheperd, chairman of VOAD, said forming a committee to coordinate long-term recovery efforts would be one of the most pressing projects the group will be working toward.

"We had a long-term recovery team here in Owensboro after the 2000 tornado," Sheperd said. "Since that time, the committee had done its job and it dissolved soon after the disaster."

VOAD is made up of a series of committees with representatives from each church or group that helps coordinate with the overall organization on how to best perform their mission.

Richard Murphy, vice-chair of VOAD, said the long-term recovery committee would act as a guide and assistant for the community in connecting the fiscal aid available for recovery with locals in need.

"After a person's insurance and FEMA funds are used, there are inevitably damages that wouldn't be covered," Murphy said. "The committee would talk to case managers and help homeowner with how much they need to meet their issue. They can help them find contractors or service in repairing damage."

Lewis Lane Baptist Church serves as the fiscal broker for VOAD, accepting and managing the financial aid the community receives during disasters. The long-term recovery team would work in conjunction with Lewis Lane Baptist Church to responsibly distribute that aid.

VOAD is also working on a food committee, but the process isn't as simple as finding cooks to volunteer their time and pantries.

The organization has two independent shelters and two Red Cross partnered shelters that take in people during disasters, trying to meet their needs during the first 72 hours of an event. In order to provide food for people in shelters, VOAD must find churches or facilities with commercial kitchens that meet inspection guidelines. It also has to develop plans and contingencies to get volunteers where they are needed and access federal food commodities if a federal disaster has been declared.

Sheperd said the process of forming a long-term recovery committee could be completed by the end of the year, but all of the organization's successes have taken time.

"It took three years for our volunteer reception committee and two for distribution committee," Sheperd said. "It takes time to get people involved and it takes people with specific kinds of skills."

Jacob Dick, 270-228-2837, [email protected],Twitter: @jdickjournalism

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