Red Cross Academy returns after successful inaugural year

The American Red Cross Academy will be held at Three Rivers College, beginning July 10 in Poplar Bluff, Mo. The four-day event offers classes on emergency preparedness and community recovery in the aftermath of a disaster.

This is the second year the Southeast Missouri chapter has hosted this event. Last year, the three-day program trained more than 50 Red Cross volunteers. This year, partners and community members were invited to the training, including local health departments, Community Organizations Active in Disasters, churches and faith organizations, emergency management directors, fire departments, law enforcement departments and community action agencies.

"We're all coming together, with a different focus group every day, co-mingling with volunteers, community members, partners and emergency responders," emergency services director Jamie Koehler said.

This year offers a larger variety of classes and presentations, including community resilience informational presentations and information on Community Organizations Active in Disaster groups, along with active shooter presentations.

"We want folks to be prepared in the event of a disaster," community resilience coordinator Beth Seabaugh said. "The more (people) we can get educated, the better prepared every community is."

Annah Rasul lists things victims of a flood would need as part of a group exercise during a Disaster Service Overview class, which serves as an orientation for new volunteers at the Southeast Missouri Chapter of the American Red Cross. (Adam Vogler)

Classes begin July 10 and will focus on the community and prospective members. July 11 is geared toward faith-based organizations, July 12 for the emergency management officials and fire and safety work, and July 13 toward communities and families. Residents and organizations can come any day and take as many classes as they like.

Seabaugh said the goal of the four-day session is to expand the availability of the classes, get more people trained and provide a large amount of information in a short amount of time.

Koehler said the chapter will bring in people from Joplin, Springfield, Jefferson City and Arkansas, along with local emergency managers and community members to help teach the courses and sit in panel presentations.

"This is a really nice way of offering different perspectives, and it reinforces the whole idea that the only way we can respond is to help one another, stand shoulder to shoulder," Koehler said.

Jim Watkins is the coordinator for the community emergency response team for the Cape Girardeau County Fire Department, as well as Region E, which serves 13 counties in Southeast Missouri.

"A lot of people say, 'It won't happen to me, I don't need to know that,'" he said. "Then there's a disaster like in Oklahoma or Joplin, and it's 'Maybe I need to know a little bit more than I do.' That seems to bring the numbers out, unfortunately. We're more of a reactive society than proactive."

Watkins will be on a panel to share what services and resources are available for Butler County and Southeast Missouri residents in the event of a disaster, along with how to be responsible for themselves and their families.

"We want them to take away that all disasters happen locally, they're responded to locally and recovery is local," he said. "As a community, we have to to able to take care of ourselves. Some people come in to help with the large-scale, but they leave and the community is left. Who can do what, how can we help ourselves, keep our families safe, be able to go back to work, create the jobs and start the cycle all over again?"

Kyle Schott, with Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri, also will speak on a panel. He said their goal focuses more on long-term recovery while the Red Cross is more immediate, so they work together well as partners to help bring a community back on its feet. He said the role of his agency is to do good work and let it speak for itself, and if it moves people, then it moves people.

The diocese covers 39 counties, basically the southern third of Missouri. The group helps with things like gas and diesel cards as well as housing.

"We want to help people regain sustainable housing," he said. "That's our ultimate long-term goal: basically repair homes or rebuild new ones if we have the means. We do all that basically through funds raised and grants. We generally bring in a volunteer labor force."

Schott is the chairman for a local long-term recovery committee for Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Perry and Scott counties.

"What I hope people get is that they're able to see that the more prepared they are prior to the disaster, but knowledge what to do following the disaster will allow communities to bounce back more efficiently, more effectively, instead of sticking our heads in the sand and saying, 'It'll never happen.'"

Three Rivers College again is donating the use of facilities. Seabaugh said offering the academy free of charge is possible only because of the strong partnership with the college.

The chapter offers a catalog of classes and registration information. Those interested can register for the free classes by mail, email, fax or phone. Walk-in registrations will also be allowed.

"I'm hoping that people will take away some tools to enhance their own individual preparedness, their organization preparedness and community preparedness," Koehler said. "This doesn't happen overnight. It's kind of like a journey. There's a lot to do. We can help in providing the tools, the people to call and experts."

For more information or to register, call the Red Cross Southern Missouri Headquarters at 866-206-0256 or the Southeast Chapter in Cape Girardeau at 335-9471.

The local chapter will also host a free Sheltering Fundamentals course on July 15 at the Osage Center from 8 a.m. to noon. Residents will train as Red Cross diaster shelter volunteers, gaining experience in running a shelter and learning how to carry out the necessary roles in a disaster shelter. This course requires an RSVP. To register, call Annah Rasul at 335-9471, ext. 1304.

botto@semissourian.com

Pertinent address:

Three Rivers College

515 W Market St

Dexter, Mo