WEB EXTRA
Volunteer Center's Disaster Program prepares community for emergencies

When disaster strikes, the Disaster Program of the Volunteer Center Serving Howard County stands ready to serve. The program, coordinated by Pam Simonson, provides information about disaster volunteerism and refers interested volunteers to nonprofits and first responders seeking help.

"We provide monthly information sessions to encourage people to be part of organizations so they are pre-positioned, pre-trained and ready to serve when the time comes," Simonson said. "If we are well prepared in our homes, neighborhoods and volunteer organizations, the community is well prepared."

Mickey Gomez serves as executive director of the Volunteer Center, which started in the fall of 2001 as a means of connecting community members seeking volunteer opportunities with the needs of local agencies. The center brought on Simonson just before Tropical Storm Isabel hit in 2003.

Since the Disaster Volunteer Program started, more than 200 volunteers have been referred to training by the American Red Cross and Howard County Fire & Rescue (Citizen Emergency Readiness Training, or CERT). And more than 700 residents have opted in to an e-mail database to learn about disaster training and emergency volunteerism.

Richard Philps, of Mount Airy, works for Howard County Fire & Rescue as an emergency management coordinator. He recommends citizens attend the free CERT. Thinking about emergencies in advance is more helpful than dealing with them when they happen, he said.

"Everybody realizes what's going on in the world and possibility of other terrorist acts possibly occurring here," Philps said. "[Terrorists] know what aspects of our infrastructure to target. We might be out of power for a week or two or longer. How are you going to maintain sanitation or do just the basic things to survive until everything comes back?"

Bob and Pat Carto, of Harper's Choice, got involved as disaster volunteers in 2003. Pat Carto first volunteered to help answer phones at Howard Building during Tropical Storm Isabel. Since then, the couple has participated in CERT and Red Cross training. They share the information they've learned with the 300 residents in their condominium building.

"[CERT] teaches things like first aid, how to get people out of a fire, work with police and fire, get water, build an emergency kit, set aside medicines and have documents ready," Bob Carto said.

The couple also volunteers with Columbia Amateur Radio Association, providing communications for bike rides and charity walks — where cell phone service may not be available.

"When nothing else works, the amateur radio system works," Bob Carto said. "It's a great public service."

For the Cartos, emergency preparedness is essential.

"Let's hope we never need it — but it's silly to say we won't need it,' Bob Carto said.

Volunteers have participated in local and regional disaster exercises, including Operation Down Under and Operation Purple Haze, which simulated a terrorist attacks in Baltimore. Trained volunteers affiliated with existing disaster preparedness and response agencies have also responded to floods in Iowa and hurricanes on the Gulf Coast, most recently responding to help Hurricane Ike survivors in Texas.

The Disaster Volunteer Program works to support the Howard County Department of Citizen Services. If requested, in the event of a local disaster, the VCSHC will set up a Volunteer Mobilization Center to receive and refer community members who want to volunteer, providing a central meeting location.

"[Being prepared for an emergency] is not only a civic responsibility," Simonson said. 'It's a way to make sure our community is safe and well and fosters community building and resiliency."

The Volunteer Center Serving Howard County is funded through the Columbia Association, Columbia Foundation, Horizon Foundation, Howard County Department of Citizens Services, Baltimore Urban Area Security Initiative and United Way Community Partnership of Howard County. It is a member of the Community Emergency Response Network. For more information, call 410-715-3179 or visit www.VolunteerHoward.org.

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