Disaster Response Team Suggestion Box

[nitehawg]

First, please allow me to introduce myself.  I have been chosen to be the Executive Director of Citizens Assisting Citizens, Inc. (formerly known as the TSP DRT).   Basically that means that I am running the day to day operations of the Corp., but I am not a member of the Board of Directors.  We are incorporated officially as a not for profit corporation and we are currently awaiting our exempt status from the IRS.

Juggaloprepper, we will have all the paperwork to be legit and it falls on me to ensure that our responses to emergencies will show us to be legit.  The BOD and I are working very hard to ensure that from our first response on we will be the most professional and best team on the scene.

Idelphic, our job will be to serve the needs of the "victims" affected by the disaster and also the needs of the responders.  When, in the opinion of OUR incident commander we are no longer serving our purpose, we are gone.  We are all volunteers and have other lives.  And while we all have a strong desire to serve and assist our fellow man in need we will not be abused.

Rikkrack, ya got extra butter?

Thanks for the posts

nitehawg

[rikkrack]

Jut wanted to stay update as things progress. Noting noteworthy to post at this time. I am glad to see thing are pro geeing behind the scenes and thanks for the update. I was realty charged up when I first learned about DRT now CAC.

Keep the updates coming!

Rick

[nitehawg]

Probably should offer my apologies.  We were very busy working hard trying to get the "legal" parts done during the holiday season, and unfortunately ignored the Forums a little too much.  We were reading the thoughts and ideas posted but not replying.  Thank the Lord for lawyers and accountants making sure that the i's are dotted and the T's crossed.  In the same breath dang those lawyers and accountants for not letting us move forward until things were right.  We still got a little to go on the "legal" end but now we are beginning to develop our operations plan which is where I hope the Forum members will be a big help.  Things like training, communications, deployment plans all need to be developed and implemented.  It's a long journey and while we aren't reinventing the wheel we are making sure that we implement plans that are right and tailored to us.

Thanks

nitehawg

[rikkrack]

Something I found beneficial and I am sure in the notes or boards to consider but the way the ANTS group would allow partial transporting or gathering supplies but not directly going to disaster area.

Summary. Person A has a box of food or some water/supplies to donate and lets say is in small city Po-dunk. Meet Person B at local McDonalds along highway. Person B is from another small town and is on way to larger city Metropolis. Person B picks up supplies from Person A and drives to Metropolis and drops off at meeting location for The Team who are in route to disaster area, City C. Person A, and B don't go directly to disaster site, but aid to others in need. The Team get supplies without having as many people at the site, or having to transport all on their own. Big logistics and networking resource, but if planned out could work out well. 

http://www.americansnetworkingtosurvive.org/

[nitehawg]

Now there's an interesting idea rikkrack.  And while it may have logistic and networking issues up front, it also solves a couple of other issues.  As you mentioned it keeps the scene from getting overpopulated plus it affords an opportunity for those who can't deploy for a period of time to assist.  This could work out to be really great.

Thanks

nitehawg

[idelphic]

First, please allow me to introduce myself.  I have been chosen to be the Executive Director of Citizens Assisting Citizens, Inc. (formerly known as the TSP DRT).   Basically that means that I am running the day to day operations of the Corp., but I am not a member of the Board of Directors.  We are incorporated officially as a not for profit corporation and we are currently awaiting our exempt status from the IRS.

Juggaloprepper, we will have all the paperwork to be legit and it falls on me to ensure that our responses to emergencies will show us to be legit.  The BOD and I are working very hard to ensure that from our first response on we will be the most professional and best team on the scene.

Idelphic, our job will be to serve the needs of the "victims" affected by the disaster and also the needs of the responders.  When, in the opinion of OUR incident commander we are no longer serving our purpose, we are gone.  We are all volunteers and have other lives.  And while we all have a strong desire to serve and assist our fellow man in need we will not be abused.

Rikkrack, ya got extra butter?

Thanks for the posts

nitehawg

Following up on this thread, I see the name change and did a google search.  There is already a organization with the  name of Citizens Assisting Citizens, Inc.

One and the same?

[nitehawg]

idelphic, that's a nagative.  Have to have the lawyers check this out.

Thanks for the catch

nitehawg

[North WI Thriver]

...two options are snow machines, horses or snowshoes and in an ice storm I would be on a horse before i got on a snow machine.. but those might be two things needed for winter season disaster for towns like mine that are not on any FEMA list to be helped in any way..

I live in a little town in Northern Wisconsin.  A quick Bing search will turn up the local snowmobile clubs and some of the members listed even have HAM radio handles. A DRT looking to come to a place like this might want to tap into local sporting clubs like this who have the equipment and familiarity to navigate the landscape and scout for suitable areas to drive road vehicles so we're not going in blind.  These clubs also serve as an information network and can even transport rescuers from a base camp to remote farmhouse where they're needed. 

[nelson96]

if it hit the fan in towns like mine in the winter i can tell you you wont be able to drive a rig in or a motorcycle or a four wheeler your two options are snow machines, horses or snowshoes and in an ice storm I would be on a horse before i got on a snow machine.. but those might be two things needed for winter season disaster for towns like mine that are not on any FEMA list to be helped in any way..

I basically agree.  I don't see the point of using a snowmobile unless you know exactly where you're going and the actual search is over.  A snowmobile could prove very useful for sledding in food and gear, or to sled out an injured person.  But if you are searching for people, a horse, snowshoes, or cross country skis would be my choice.

[mark.s]

idelphic, that's a nagative.  Have to have the lawyers check this out.

Good fun... didn't see that one! We will have to see what sort of complications this could raise. We can use the legal name as the name of our corporation in CO, but there might be some other complications down the road. I'll shoot off an email to the lawyer in the group.

-Mark
(the accountant who is slowing down progress...)

[mark.s]

Following up on this thread, I see the name change and did a google search.  There is already a organization with the  name of Citizens Assisting Citizens, Inc.

One and the same?

That group is actually Citizens For Citizens, Inc... so we should be good.

-Mark

[Oil Lady]

I'd like to suggest someone get in touch with a man named Brad Barker. He's a disaster preparedness expert here in civilian life, and he has a military background in Special Ops. Barker and his company (called the HALO Corporation) took a team down to New Orleans during the Katrina aftermath, so he has first hand experience with disaster response. And the guy totally digs Jack Spirko and The Survival Podcast. This link is to a thread I launched yesterday about the man.

http://thesurvivalpodcast.com/forum/index.php?topic=41766.0

SUMMATION OF THIS THREAD LINK: Two nights ago Brad Barker got up on live radio with over 5 million listeners worldwide and made the very firm suggestion that people tune into Jack Spirko of the Survival Podcast. He recited the web address for TSP no less than three times, and he even took the time to spell Jack's last name right there on the air.
 
Barker is evidently a huge fan of TSP, admits to being a regular listener to the podcast, but he states that he doesn't know Jack at all (they've never met or spoken) and he merely listens to TSP, so I am assuming that he isn't actually involved with us at this time. But since he is a regular listener to the podcast, I'm sure he is aware of the DRT (so if he has already availed himself to TSP's DRT effort, then ignore my suggestion). But if no one here has ever heard from the guy, I'm thinking that with that kind of an endorsement two nights ago from a man of such experience, I think maybe a friendly phone call --maybe from Jack himself-- might result in an excellent asset/alliance/resource for the DRT effort.

[seawrath]

I sent this video to Jack with no response, so I decided to send it here to hear everyone's thoughts..
Its a program to organize items,volunteers, and services. I think this is needed for the drt in many neighborhoods.

http://on.ted.com/Oneill


http://recovers.org

 

[TwoXForr]

Besides the actual responders that would go into the affected area, how about having a team of volunteer Comm/Research persons. 

Ground Team is on the Scene, and there is no internet and lousy communications.  They send out by whatever mean possible (text, Zello,)  to the Comm Team their requests for Maps, local Aid Centers set up by the Red Cross, FEMA, ect.    Also the Comm Team could look up locations of possible sites to local churches and other places where help might be available. 

The Comm Team could volunteer in shifts for 4/8/12 hours in which they will be in their homes and ready to do some Google Fu to give timely information out. 

[nitehawg]

Thanks for the note TwoXForr,

We are making provisions for those volunteers who declare themselves non-deployable.  Among them will be comms "base stations" and administrative jobs including R&D, training course development, volunteer management among a host of others.  We strongly believe that just because somebody can't deploy doesn't mean they can't volunteer and be an integral part of the Team.

Thanks again,
"nitehawg"
Executive Director
Citizens Assisting Citizens

[Canadian Prepper]

I'll have to agree with earlier posters who suggested that participants take at least some of the introductory FEMA/DHS Independent Study courses. Perhaps those taking on leadership positions might need to take a couple more, or it might be advisable to provide a list of most desirable courses for those who've got the time to take them.

I think that the discussion of DRT goals, tasks, SOPs and other matters would be more productive after people have taken at least the basic courses on NIMS and ICS, and perhaps a few others in areas like SAR. How the DRT may fit into the larger NIMS/ICS model or possibly utilize it to shape its internal structure might be better discussed after more people have familiarized themselves with it.

I realize that there's also lots of possibilities as to how the DRT might actually try to contribute to any emergency, whether providing aid directly to disaster victims or supporting another voluntary or government agency providing aid. Joining a state-level VOAD might be a possibility (national level VOAD membership requires an enormous budget and/or huge amount of volunteers).

All of this isn't to say that the DRT has to be anything too complicated, but simply that a certain base level of knowledge about how disaster response is run in the US will help to formulate its mission and goals.

[Big_Al]

Corporations use scale to determine if a market is viable or not.  The suggestion here is to lower expectations in going to a regional disaster area with a bunch of food and supplies to help out an entire community.  Start with a baseline of service and help a particular individual in a localized disaster.  The CAC could then determine if this small scale operation was a success, failure, or otherwise.  Once the group has several small scale "wins" under their belt then they can scale it up.  We do this in the military with deployments, especially the National Guard.  We will sent in small units of hand picked individuals to complete a limited duration and scope deployment.  Once we get a few "wins" we start ramping up the size of units and expand the mission.  We learn as we go.  There is an upper threshold to this, and the trick is to find the right balance of individuals, scope of work, and realistically what could be done.

Happy New Year!

[AngusBangus]

If you are interested and haven't already, please visit CACTeam.com to sign up and/or donate. We need everyone who is willing. Signing up in no way commits you to any specific disaster response... we aren't the military. If you can't support us with your time or money, please support us with your social capital. That is, go to the website and share it to your social networks (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)

Dillon - Region IV Coordinator

NOTE: I will be posting this across multiple threads within the TSP DRT board to reach the widest audience. I believe this is not outside the forum rules given that this board is dedicated to this specific subject.

[Cedar]

How does one go about finding out what region one is in?

Cedar

[COG_K]

How does one go about finding out what region one is in?

Cedar

http://www.cacteam.com/about-us/regional-coordinators/

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see the map.

[Cedar]

Sorry.. yes. I messaged PA about it and he told me to keep scrolling. I did find it. Thanks!

Cedar

[Hootie]

Might be nice to have a basic list of what we could keep in our cars (or what to have on hand ready to put in our cars). While some supplies might depend on the situation, it might be good to list some things that will always be needed. Some of us would be willing to have a go box ready to throw in the car

maybe:

• 800W inverter
• case of water
• folding table
• popup tarp
• CB radio

[AngusBangus]

Here's the list for a scout vehicle. I don't have a truck, but I have a lot of these items in my car. Hootie, you're right on track.
http://www.cacteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/planning_scout-vehicle-supply-list_v1.pdf

[SomeOlddMan]

Here's the list for a scout vehicle. I don't have a truck, but I have a lot of these items in my car. Hootie, you're right on track.
http://www.cacteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/planning_scout-vehicle-supply-list_v1.pdf

Will the content for the magnetic signs be posted somewhere so we can try to price them out ourselves?  I've had magnetic car signs made before (although not that large), and they weren't that expensive.

[AngusBangus]

Will the content for the magnetic signs be posted somewhere so we can try to price them out ourselves?  I've had magnetic car signs made before (although not that large), and they weren't that expensive.

I'm not sure it will be "out in the wild". I would expect it will be available behind a password, perhaps on the forum, for people who are volunteers, have a background check, etc.