Organizing volunteers for disaster relief after tornado destruction

Volunteer Organization

Natural disasters are devastating events on a variety of levels. On the material level, the sheer destruction that disasters such as tornadoes or floods cause can be enormous. On the emotional level, the loss of property and loved ones is often even more distressing than the material loss. Furthermore, the shock of the violence associated with the event also takes a significant psychological toll. When organizing volunteers to help in the aftermath of a tornado, it is therefore important to take these factors into consideration.

When faced with the task of providing volunteer assistance in the aftermath of a tornado, I would therefore consider the levels of loss and devastation, as well the sequence of handling these. Before organizing the volunteers into teams, I would first assess the level of their skills, as well as their emotional stability. Because the material and emotional loss can often not be separated, the field teams will have to be sufficiently stable to handle the extent of loss and grief they will likely encounter. They will therefore have to be emotionally strong enough to support those who have lost property and loved ones on both a material and emotional level. I would make a preliminary assessment by asking a series of questions and assess the level of emotional stability on the strength of the answers I receive.

Because time will be an issue, I will not be able to make this a very long process. My preliminary assessment may therefore be somewhat limited in terms of accuracy. I will handle this limitation by organizing teams of two or three members each. The instruction will be to return to base immediately should one of the team members show signs of excessive stress.

Because the material destruction is most obvious, I would therefore make this my main focus for organizing my initial group of volunteers. These volunteers will transport supplies to community members who are unable to travel. They will also help to set up temporary shelter for those who have lost their homes in the tornado.

A group of five or six volunteers will remain at the base camp to relieve returning teams or to provide support for citizens who are able to make their way to the premises. These volunteers will also serve to replace those who have been overcome by the stress and grief of their encounters.

The field workers will be required to return every evening to rest and recharge their efforts. When they return, there will be a debriefing session to discuss the day's events and the structure of the effort for the next day. A daily assessment will be made of the volunteers' emotional state, and decisions made regarding their position in the effort. Those who suffer breakdowns will be sent away for professional care and replaced by fresh volunteers.

If a volunteer is visibly affected by the stress but not at breakdown level, I will conduct a meeting with the person to determine his or her willingness to continue being part of the program. In such a case, I would then retain the volunteer in question for duty at the base camp for a day or two until I can ensure that the person is ready for field duty again.

For the debriefing sessions, I will also organize group discussions to allow volunteers the opportunity to talk about the events that occurred during the day. This opportunity would be free for all to discuss their emotions and reactions to the devastation they encountered.