Hurricane season officially ended on the last day of November, but members of Brevard Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) are thinking ahead to June 1.
That’s the first day of the 2014 hurricane season, and it’s the group’s self-imposed deadline for compiling an inventory of volunteers and other resources that could be used to meet needs in the community in the aftermath of disaster.
“We have a great starting point with a directory of the more than 50 VOAD members and 2-1-1 Brevard’s online database, but we don’t have the level of detail that could make the biggest difference when trying to cope with the damage from a hurricane,” said Belinda Stewart, who represents 2-1-1 Brevard in VOAD.
“We need to know how many volunteers the member brings to the table and what skills those people have,” she said. “We need to know about the equipment and facilities that they have to offer.”
A planning team, including Stewart, developed an electronic survey to begin the resource assessment, and results are being reviewed.
The team includes:
- Bill Young, Brevard VOAD chairman and retired engineer with Florida Solar Energy Center.
- David Rosenbaum, vice chairman and pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church on Merritt Island.
- And Michele Jones, secretary and emergency services officer with the American Red Cross Mid-Florida Region.
The survey will be distributed again in January, or it can be accessed by clicking here.
Brevard VOAD is a coalition of nonprofit, governmental, faith-based and service organizations that assists Brevard County Emergency Management’s Emergency Support Function 15 (Volunteers and Donations).
Public meetings are held at 9 a.m. on the second Thursday of each month at Florida Solar Energy Center, 1679 Clearlake Road in Cocoa. For more information, visit www.brevardvoad.org or facebook.com/BrevardVOAD.