VOAD Advantage
Mike Studebaker
Greetings:
I apologize for my negligence in communicating with you of late. (I need to learn how to say no to some of my statewide obligations.) The good news is that I have forged some new partnerships with Santa Cruz County OES and their Public Health Agency.
Our meeting on June 12, 2008, was small in attendance; but, it was also an affirmation (for those present) that we are heading in the right direction. I find the whole notion of VOAD becoming operational as plain silly. VOAD is much like my volunteers. As much as I like to think that “my” volunteers respond to me; it’s simply not true. My volunteers, and I suspect the VOAD membership, are event driven. This fact was sadly evident with my Santa Cruz County project; not one of my volunteers responded and/or went to Santa Cruz County to perform debris removal services…the price of gas was too high. I had to bring in a team from Idaho and Utah to meet the need. For this group, Santa Cruz County was an exciting enough event to respond…especially with some vacation time scheduled at the beach when the work was done.
Equally true among VOAD membership and volunteers is how one gains influence for mobilization. It takes intentional time and effort to forge equitable and lasting partnerships. Confidence in one another’s abilities, good intelligence of the situation, and excellent communication among the agencies are keys to success in a VOAD. Confidence in one another’s abilities is why it is important to meet within our functional groups. It is within these functional groups that the nuts and bolts are discussed and perhaps performed to explore and know precisely our capabilities. Getting good intelligence of the situation is exactly why we signed a statement of understanding with the County. The position, granted to us by the SOU, within the EOC will assure us of obtaining the best information possible of the situation…short of being on the ground personally. There is always some disconnect between what is happening on the ground and the information back at central command. Finally, our monthly meetings along with this e-mail communication piece and conference calls during a live event are all attempts at establishing and striving for excellent communication.
Bottom line, there are some advantages of being in a VOAD. We need each other out there in the thick of it when catastrophe happens. Please do all you can to attend our next VOAD meeting on July 10, 2008 at 3:00 PM…won’t you please? As usual the meeting will be located at the United Way of the Inland Valleys located at 6215 River Crest Drive, Suite B in Riverside, CA 92507.
God Bless!
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