With Lilly inbound...

[le Voyageur]

We're gearing up the team just in case we need to head south to do a bit of rescue work....you folks, and scouters in the area where Lilly will be making landfall, please be careful to where ever it is that you've gotta go for safety. May you, and your family all return home safe and sound.......

[Mike F]

le V,

Does your Troop get involved in rescue work or disaster response? If so, I'd like to talk to you about it! I've mentioned it to some leaders here and they thought I was crazy. Made contact with FEMA and Red Cross after recent flooding in Central Texas to see if we could bring a group up, but they were very reluctant due to liabilities, etc. My first memory of Boy Scouts in action was a local news clip showing Boy Scouts helping sand-bag a levy after a hurricane in S. Texas. I was a Cub and couldn't wait to do some real hero stuff to help out. Do Scouts do this anymore??

 

Breathing a sigh of relief in Houston -- and praying for our neighbors to the East...

[sctmom]

Could boys in other areas at least gather items to be sent to Red Cross in an area like that?

 

I remember when Hurrican Andrew hit Florida some years ago that we gathered items at work. They needed things like cleaning supplies, diapers, bottled water, baby food, etc. Everyone brought stuff and then some of us sorted the items into boxes. Also, maybe collecting small toys for the children.

 

It is a shame that the Scouts can't do more hands on. So many are eager to help like that and it is such a good lesson in community service.

 

[ASM7]

Having been caught by surprise by the fast moving destruction of Hurricane Hugo, we tend now to not take the threat lightly. We have assisted the Red Cross in logistical details since that terrible September night. The Red Cross office is right across the street from our sponsoring church. Our troop helped supply relief stations at several schools in our county that were assigned for that purpose. It turned out that they weren't needed, but the scouts learned about being prepared in a real world situation. I suggest if you want to help, to contact the RC and find out what the needs are.

Our prayers are with you on the Gulf Coast and all who stand in the way of Lilly. We especially send our prayers for those who are required to stay and provide assistance. Law Enforcement, Firemen, EMTs, Hospital staff, and all the volunteers.

[yaworski]

"My first memory of Boy Scouts in action was a local news clip showing Boy Scouts helping sand-bag a levy after a hurricane in S. Texas. I was a Cub and couldn't wait to do some real hero stuff to help out. Do Scouts do this anymore??"

 

There was a Boy Scout troop from my area that went to the Pentagon to help out last September. They didn't hoist rocks or beams but passed out water. Still they were there when most were just glued to CNN.

 

Let's not forget the ASM/Volunteer fireman-EMT who happened to be in the area when the planes hit the WTC. He simply went, pitched in to help, and paid with his life. Now that's living by the Scout Law!

 

[Eagle74]

Please check with emergency response and management organizations before "just showing up." As an emergency services professional, I can tell you that very often "volunteers" descending upon a disaster site from every direction become just another problem for us to deal with. On the local level we often employ the assistance offered by local/regional groups, mostly as behind the scenes workers - runners, supply distribution, meal servers, or handing out water bottles type activity as mentioned above - especially when we already know their capabilities. We do tell them all to contact us first. Managing unfamiliar volunteers is difficult and another task for us to accomplish during an already difficult time.

 

I would urge you to ask for guidance, ask for authorization to respond and coordinate disaster assistance activities with one of the organizations charged with coordinating this type of response (Red Cross, FEMA, Local Emergency Management Agency, local government, etc.) For the Hurricane Lili event, fire departments have already been urged not to just show up (http://www.usfa.fema.gov/dhtml/media/02-lili.cfm) as this causes as many problems as it solves.

 

I'm not saying don't offer your assistance. We appreciate the help when needed and well coordinated. And your chances of being asked to help, being accepted to help, or at times being able to weasel yourself into the arena is very much enhanced if you let us know beforehand what your capabilities are. Being involved in scouting, I know what a well-oiled scout troop can do for me - scouts with basic assistance/survival skills, an established organizational structure, proper supervision, and so forth. Now add regualarly practiced skills and an emergency response activation plan, and I have a valuable resource. But I need to know this beforehand; I need to be familiar with what you are capable of. (There are some troops that I would not count on or be at all comfortable with on a disaster site).

 

Bottom line is do some planning, be involved before the disaster happens, have a designated contact, and follow instructions. The result will be a good experience and valuable to both sides of the equation.