Brennan, M.A., C. Flint, and R. Barnett. 2005. "Community Volunteers: The Front Line of Disaster Response". Journal of Volunteer Administration. 23(4): 52-56.
Overview
The dramatic and tragic events of Hurricane Katrina have highlighted the need for coordinated community based volunteer efforts to prepare for, and respond to, natural and other disasters. The recent hurricanes in the Gulf States underscore the problems and shortcomings associated with coordinating outside logistics and show a clear need for local volunteers to serve as the first line of response to such catastrophes. Such disasters are likely to occur again. When disasters do occur, citizen groups and coordinated local volunteers will again be the first responders and can act to lessen impacts. This article identifies and suggests methods for linking local organizations, recruiting volunteers, and implementing coordinated action plans prior to, and after, the impact of natural disasters.
Implications for Research and Extension
Local volunteers and community level action is essential to effective natural disaster preparation and response. They are particularly important in that these citizens are in many cases the first responders and have the greatest chance to save lives and provide support in the hours and days immediately after disaster occurrences. Certainly, an effective community response would have diminished some, no matter how small, of the suffering and loss that occurred during and after the recent hurricanes. An organized community and volunteer response could have helped in a number of ways before, during, and immediately after the recent disasters. They may have been able to:- Coordinate a more successful evacuation and transportation effort,
- Provide some structure and order
- Aid in organizing resources for distribution before and after the hurricane,
- Decrease some of the isolation and sense of abandonment that quickly engulfed victims in the affected areas.
