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Volunteers are often a valuable resource following a disaster, but only if managed properly. To avoid a potentially chaotic volunteer situation during or after a disaster, localities should factor volunteer engagement into their disaster planning process.

Localities can start by identifying which localities and volunteers are available to help in a disaster event. This process includes developing mutual aid or automatic aid agreements with neighboring localities.

It is also important to understand the differences between short- and long-term volunteers, factor in volunteer training, and how keep volunteers engaged throughout the process.

Volunteers as a Short- and Long-Term Resource

According to Claire Collins, IBTS development manager for local government solutions, localities must plan for the possibility that some of their core team and staff may be compromised or unavailable in a disaster event. If this does happen, short-term volunteers can be a valuable resource. “Short-term volunteers can provide relief to the core response and recovery team by performing duties to return business back to normal,” Collins says.

Long-term volunteers serving four weeks or more can take on more complex tasks that require training or become leaders or site supervisors, providing training, support or management of short-term volunteers. Denny Huff, executive director for the Bedford Community Health Foundation in Roanoke, VA, suggests organizing long-term community leader volunteers into a recovery group responsible for managing funds donated and overseeing projects to completion.

Training Volunteers

Throughout the recovery process and beyond, localities should seize the opportunity to train and credential new volunteers while disaster is still fresh in their mind. When the next disaster strikes, the community will be ready with actionable volunteers who can employ their services with more immediacy.

Volunteers, especially self-dispatching or spontaneous ones, need to receive a volunteer orientation on what to do and not to do, in addition to basic safety training credentialing – no volunteers should be allowed onsite without completing these. Training for specific tasks may also be required once volunteers are onsite.

Marci Stone, emergency management coordinator for the City of Roanoke, VA, recommends using a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) to create a level of readiness with citizens. The CERT program provides six weeks of training that help prepare community members to deal with tasks that need to be completed in the first 72 hours, including debris removal, tree cutting and donation management, among other critical tasks. The Red Cross also provides free training for volunteers.

Safety training typically takes place at the Volunteer Reception Center (VRC). In some scenarios, a CERT trailer is used as the VRC. Stone explains that the city of Roanoke set up a CERT trailer in 2012 after the city was hit by derecho, a destructive and deadly fast-moving severe thunderstorm.  The trailer, which was funded through a grant, can also be used for “community events and for training and keeping volunteers engaged,” according to Huff, who recommends setting the VRC up periodically at community events.

Maintaining Volunteers

After volunteers are assigned to their roles, it’s important for managers to check in on them. “You want to keep them engaged and make sure they feel like part of the solution,” says Collins. Response and recovery can be physically and mentally taxing on volunteers, and making an effort to keep spirits high can help maintain a positive environment for both volunteers and officials.

“People are proud when they volunteer,” says Stone. “People need to feel wanted and engaged. Make them feel like they are in a special club. Give them a shirt.”

Maintaining a positive relationship with volunteers also makes it more likely that they continue providing their assistance over the long-term and respond to emergency needs in future disaster events. Stone suggests hosting an annual volunteer dinner to recognize volunteers, keeping them engaged and reminded of their impact.

Although volunteers can create added stress and work for incident management, volunteering helps rebuild communities not just from a physical standpoint, but also a psychological one. “Involvement from community members helping others in times of need makes the community recognize the human resources and capabilities it has,” Collins says.