20140929 afterthebigguys

Leslie Wilson

Nazar Valiev

Sino Zamonov

After the

Big Guys Go Home

Serve in Disaster, LLC SiD/Tajikistan

Contact Information

[email protected](+001) 202.744.1115Skype: leslielwilson

Discover Opportunities To Help

After Disaster Strikes

Presenters:

Why are you in this room?

What drew you to this session?

What do you hope to get out of it?

What is your background – if any – in disaster relief?

Big Guys: WELCOME


After the Big Guys Go Home: Why Are We Here?

Disaster relief

work is a calling.

It is NOT for

everyone.


out-of-the-box

radical thinking

for the

disaster recovery

landscape

In the Best of Worlds

Hot Wash: West Virginia USA 2009

Hot Wash: Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan 2010

Unmet Needs

Emergency Management Cycle: Participation Dynamics

Can Helping Hurt?

Big Guy Survey Results – Invite to Participate

Fitting into the Disaster Landscape

Tabletop Landscaping

Wrap Up


After the Big Guys Go Home: The Lay of the Land

Disaster Relief

It’s chaosbut it’s

organized chaos- a Red Cross Human Resources

Manager at H. Wilma

No “spontaneous” volunteers:

What are spontaneous volunteers?

What do you do with spontaneous volunteers?

Can spontaneous volunteers can actually hinder efforts?

When disaster hits, anyone desiring to help would:

Already be trained

Deploy with a group who knows:o what they are doingo how to use the skills of each volunteer

But then we’d have organization instead of chaos

In the best of worlds

In the best of worlds


After the Big Guys Go Home: In the Best of Worlds

Get training & experience under some of the best Big Guys in the field:

Red Cross/Red Crescent

Medical Reserve Corps

CERT

AmeriCorps

Samaritan’s Purse

Aga Khan Foundation

Muslims

HODR

Fire & Rescue

Religious organizations or humanitarian associations

…or you may want to help them start one…

Be prepared!Don’t expect to join

after a disaster hits.

Most of these

groups want their

people trained

before

disaster strikes


After the Big Guys Go Home: In the Best of Worlds: Training & Experience

Can you make any

meaningful,

welcomed

contribution

if you are not tied

in with one of these

larger NGOs?

Finding your ideal volunteer position:

Your background

Your interests

Kind of work you would like to do (or not do)

Limitations


After the Big Guys Go Home: In the Best of Worlds: The Ideal Volunteer

West Virginia,USA 2009

SitRep

Lessons Learned

Best Practices


After the Big Guys Go Home: Hot Wash: West Virginia, USA 2009 Floods

Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan 2010

SitRep

Lessons Learned

Best Practices


After the Big Guys Go Home: Hot Wash: Pamirs, Tajikistan 2010 Earthquake

Emergency Management

Cycle

Disaster Response Urgent, temporary emergency aid

Provider-recipientdynamic

RecoveryMitigation

Preparedness

Partnerdynamic

Response

Recovery

MitigationPreparedness

Disaste

r


After the Big Guys Go Home: Emergency Management Cycle Participation

Disaster is filled with unmet needs

Disaster

Big Needs

Shelter FoodRoad

Repair

Other Needs

Shuttling, errand

running

Personal item

replacement

Childcare

Senior care

Personal communi-

cations

Big Guys handle huge needs

Little Guys find

niches

UnnoticedUnrelated insignificant

Other


After the Big Guys Go Home: Unmet Needs – Addressing the Underlying Cause

Needs resulting

from disaster

Needs predating

the disaster

Life may return to

normal

. . .

but what if

normal stinks?

Disaster’s Downward

Spiral


After the Big Guys Go Home: Unmet Needs – Downward Spiral

Lessons Learned

Best Practices

The participation of disaster-affected people – including the vulnerable groups –in the• assessment, • development, • implementation and • monitoring of responses should be maximized to ensure the appropriateness and quality of any disaster response.

- Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, The Sphere Project


After the Big Guys Go Home: Can Helping Hurt?

Holistic Approach to Community Partnering

* *

o

Economic Systems

Social System

Religious System

Political System


After the Big Guys Go Home: Can Helping Hurt?

Big Guy Survey ResultsA work in progress

Survey of various personnel around the nation

in emergency management.

They responded to the following questions:

• Exact work they can do (skills, equipment, level of expertise, …)

• How many people they can provide

• When they would be available for work and for how long

• Be totally self contained (need no housing, food, ...)

• Leave no footprint except improvement

When talking with FEMA, it was suggested that an independent group might contact EM in the area hit several weeks after the disaster (when big NGOs had left, media forgot) to see if there are any unmet needs.

The group should be able to state:

Any other suggestions?

Any particular skills most needed?

Is this a group you’d want to work with?


After the Big Guys Go Home: Big Guys Speak Out

Big Guy Survey Results

Providing resources or services for disaster survivors:

• Gift cards

• Food

• Clothing

• Personal /home items (appliances, toys, …)

• Tools, computers, office supplies, …

• Post-disaster cleanup

• Vehicle/phone/computer services

• Other _____________________________

Providing services or resources for responders:

• Office help

• Shuttling, communications

• Work gloves, cleanup supplies, etc.

• Food

• Entertainment

• Other _____________________________

What type of help generally would be most appreciated?



Big Guy Survey Results

If a small group or individual wanted to offer assistance after a disaster, whom

should they contact:

• Emergency manager (county level, city, …)

• Red Cross

• Social Services (government, NGO, …)

• Other ____________________________

When would you likely be most interested in such help (given typical disasters you are likely to deal with):

• Immediately after disaster

• One week after

• One month after

• As soon as outside NGOs, agencies leave

• Other ____________________________




Brainstorm Questions:

•What are the needs that are often unmet?•How can average people help meet those needs? •Should they even try to meet some of those needs?•What approach to use?•Who do they approach to get started?

Don’t let your desire to help fade with the news coverage:

•Follow the news as relief efforts unfold•Look for the unmet needs•Think of ways you, your associates might fill unmet needs•Build a comprehensive plan while initial relief efforts flow

So how do you translate all this into a formula that will let you fit into the disaster landscape?


After the Big Guys Go Home: Fitting into the Disaster Landscape

Recovery Plan Components

List perceived unmet needs

Brainstorm how your group may help meet these needs:

Meet or call regularly in early days of the disasterList your KSAs: skills, knowledge, and abilities for each personGo through the rest of the list at each discussion

Whittle out impractical options

Follow news, updates, sources to see if these needs continue


After the Big Guys Go Home: Fitting into the Disaster Landscape – A Plan

Whittling Down Your List of Unmet Needs

With a list of candidate needs, determine:

Skills required

Resources required

Time needed to implement a solution

Will it require being on site? YES - How big is your footprint? NO – How well can you do the work remotely?

Do you need to involve other players?

Other Ideas?


After the Big Guys Go Home: Fitting into the Disaster Landscape - Whittling

First Contact Making a Good First Impression

So you found some need not being met The initial media attention has disappeared The Big Guys have mostly gone home Now how do you make First Contact?

Find several likely contacts:

• Local emergency manager – county, city• Local houses of worship• Active coordinators you may have seen in the news• Person/organization related to the work you hope to do


After the Big Guys Go Home: Fitting into the Disaster Landscape - Contact

Polish Your Elevator Speech(don’t waste anyone’s time.)

•contact your selected POC•briefly state the services you can offer:

number of personsskill setsequipmentrange of dates availablestate that you will not be dependent on any local services

(provide your own food, accommodations, etc.)Leave no footprint except improvement

“Can you use our help?” “If not, can you

recommend another organization, person who might want our

help?”

“May we leave our contact information in case a need develops where we may help?” “Thank you for your

time and best wishes to you and your

community.”


After the Big Guys Go Home: Fitting into the Disaster Landscape - Elevator Speech

Tabletop Landscaping

Expectations Met?

In the Best of Worlds: the Ideal?

Lessons Learned in West VA

Lessons Learned and Applied: Pamirs, Tajikistan

Addressing Unmet Needs

Helping without Hurting

Big Guys Speaking Out

How You Fit into Disaster Landscape

scarey

thought

for the

day

Thorough research

Objective assessment of what you can offer

Logistical organization

Respectful approach

you may not only find your niche in the disaster response landscape

but You may some day

be one of the

Big Guys!


After the Big Guys Go Home: Wrap Up

Thank you for all you do!

Or soon

will do

to be continued


After the Big Guys Go Home: Our Thanks!

A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management:Principles, Themes, and Pathways for Action

FEMA 12/2011

Whole Community Principles:

• Understand and meet the actual needs of the whole community.

• Engage and empower all parts of the community.

• Strengthen what works well in communities on a daily basis.


After the Big Guys Go Home: Thanks to FEMA

A Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management:Principles, Themes, and Pathways for Action

FEMA 12/2011

Whole Community Strategic Themes:

• Understand community complexity.

• Recognize community capabilities and needs.

• Foster relationships with community leaders.

• Build and maintain partnerships.

• Empower local action.

• Leverage and strengthen social infrastructure, networks, and assets.


After the Big Guys Go Home: Thanks to FEMA

Be sure to check out all our photo presentations on Slideshare:

http://www.slideshare.net/LLWilson/

For a fact sheet on our current work,

The Village Stove Project

or to explore other ways in which you or your organizationcan partner in this effort:

Contact: Leslie L. Wilson

Mobile: +001 202 744 1115 (until Return to Central Asia)

Email: [email protected]: LeslieLWilsonLinkedIn: Leslie L Wilson Serve in Disaster

www.linkedin.com/pub/leslie-l-wilson/32/69a/556/

Facebook, Twitter, and our website are currently being retooled for the return.

http://www.slideshare.net/LLWilson/

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/leslie-l-wilson/32/69a/556/

Government & Nonprofit

20140929 afterthebigguys