Emergency and Disaster Response

When massive earthquakes hit Christchurch, New Zealand in February 2011, university students wanted to help in the clean-up. But established first response agencies were wary of these young volunteers and too harried to work with them, so they turned them away. Sam Johnson, a student leader, would not take "no" for an answer. He turned to Facebook and put out a call to his friends. Within hours, Johnson had recruited a team of workers and borrowed enough loaned equipment to go out and simply start “mucking out.” Over the next several days, as his social network spread the word, hundreds and then thousands of students stepped forward. They called themselves the Student Volunteer Army (SVA) and eventually numbered 9,000 volunteers, earning the respect and support of the local authorities along the way. The story of Johnson and the Student Volunteer Army eventually drew headlines around the world, and attracted the attention and praise of everyone from Prince William of England to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of the United States.  Because of the media attention SVA received, the student volunteers were invited to Japan after the tsunami hit to work with a like-minded team of students. And Johnson recently returned from the World Summit for Youth Volunteering in Colombia, South America, where he presented on the role of Youth in Disaster.

Today, SVA continues its work as the Christchurch area experiences aftershocks and further quakes. In this e-Volunteerism feature, Johnson shares what it’s like to be at the center of the growing emergency response momentum. He allows that he instantly had to learn volunteer management skills, describes how he successfully used social media tools, and reviews how others can connect to young people through online networks. And he explains his strong vision for “the positive change that can occur if technology at our fingertips is harnessed by Generation Y to build stronger community relationships.”  

“Whatever Happened To . . . " is a new feature at e-Volunteerism.  Periodically, we plan to revisit articles from past issues to see what has been happening since we first published the stories. Here we update two articles by revisiting animal contributions from the past.

You may have read the article, “Volunteering Through the Eyes and Ears of a Dedicated Dog Volunteer,” written (so to speak) in 2003 by a beloved therapy dog named Mikey.  In a return to our tradition of encouraging canine contributors, e-Volunteerism presents a new dog author named Sammy. In this article, Sammy explores what it’s like to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor – not only in the volunteer world of therapy dogs but in the hearts of those who own him.  

In the weeks ahead, we’ll catch up with recent news from a true dog lover, Betsy McFarland of the Humane Society of the U.S.  She will update readers on her earlier article, Animal Rescue:  Another Heroic Volunteer Effort during Hurricane Katrina, and describe some important national changes when it comes to pets caught in the throes of natural disasters. This addition to Whatever Happened To . . . will be posted in February.

In December 2005, an assault on three volunteer surf lifesavers led to violence and what are now known as 'the Cronulla riots.'  In the aftermath of these events, a number of parties (including the Australian Government, Sutherland Shire Council, Surf Life Saving Australia, Surf Life Saving NSW, and various other groups) representing Muslims proposed a program which would attempt to bring harmony back to the Cronulla beaches. Ultimately, this program has seen almost 20 young people of mainly Lebanese Muslim background undergo the arduous training to become volunteer surf lifesavers. But is this mere tokenism or a genuine attempt by those involved to make a difference?

While most attention was fixed on the human beings caught in the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, there were many who immediately realized the plight of animals – especially family pets – who were truly in a life-or-death situation at the same time.  The Humane Society of the United States became coordination headquarters for weeks, first engaged in rescuing animals; then housing, feeding, and caring for them; and finally either reuniting them with their owners or finding and transporting them to new homes.  More than 10,000 animals were rescued and cared for in Louisiana and Mississippi alone. 

Betsy McFarland, Director of Communications in the Companion Animals Section of the Humane Society of the United States, also serves as the national staff member tasked with volunteer-related matters.  Without warning, Betsy’s office because deluged with offers for help from a special type of “spontaneous disaster volunteer”:  people who would drop everything to help animals in need.  It took weeks of unremitting activity and effort to cope, all with extraordinary volunteers. 

Listen to Betsy’s story in her own words in this audio interview.

There are over 10,000 registered volunteers in the emergency management field in the province of British Columbia (BC) in Canada, working in Emergency Social Services, Search and Rescue, and Amateur Radio Communications.  During the summer of 2003, with many fires burning in the same time period, not only were trained volunteers utilized to help with the responses, convergent volunteers came out in great numbers to assist in the communities affected by interface fires.

“Convergent volunteers” are volunteers, with no previous affiliation, that just show up at the door of a facility or an organization and offer help during a disaster (what the US refers to as “spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers”). These volunteers are typically screened, given on-the-spot orientation, and tasked to assist wherever they are needed. Many of the convergent volunteers from the 2003 forest fires became converted volunteers for various emergency management groups after the fires.

This article examines what motivates people to volunteer in emergencies and how such involvement can be fostered at other times.

This issue of Along the Web deals with a phenomenon that has gained much more attention in the past two years - volunteers who respond during disasters. As publicity about this surge of what has been called "spontaneous volunteering" grows, we can expect the phenomenon to continue. Organizations that work in disaster planning and recovery are now attempting to devise systems for managing such volunteers. The results of this planning will be applicable to every community, whether in response to natural or human-made disasters.

We've divided the Web sites described here into three sections:

• articles and manuals about disaster volunteers
• organizations and groups that respond to disasters
• useful sample materials

When I conducted my first workshop in England in 1992, I vividly remember discussing the topic of organizational image. I asked participants how long their organizations had been operating in the community. When one response was "since the Crusades," I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore! Even by British standards, St. John Ambulance has a remarkable history. Today it is a modern health care organization with members in over 40 countries worldwide. Its roots are in the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, confirmed in 1113. Over the centuries, through the involvement of clergy, medical practitioners, and legions of volunteers, St. John Ambulance has faced the challenge of balancing progress with tradition, the past and the future.