Local Recovery Task Forces Help With Unmet Needs
Release Date: July 16, 2004
Release Number: 1525-020
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LEBANON, Va. -- When disaster strikes, voluntary agencies often are among the first to arrive on the scene and among the last to leave. Volunteer response to spring floods in southwest Virginia was no exception. The overall contribution of these volunteer agencies to recovery is immeasurable, federal and state disaster officials said today.
“Too many times, the good works of these organizations goes unsung and unrecorded, but we want to recognize their joining with us in the form of local disaster recovery task forces to deal with unmet needs of southwest Virginia residents affected by storms, tornadoes and floods in May and June,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Tom Davies of the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“Federal and state assistance programs are a helping hand, but they cannot meet all the needs of those affected,” said State Coordinating Officer Michael Cline of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM). “Local disaster recovery task forces try to assuage those long term unmet needs.”
Local disaster recovery task forces are a consortium of local volunteer agencies, such as churches and local volunteer groups; national volunteer agencies, such as the Mennonites, Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters, state representatives, local governments and civic organizations, local business leaders and other groups that may provide help.
FEMA employs a volunteer liaison to work with local, state and national organizations to form local disaster recovery task forces. Kenneth Skalitsky, FEMA volunteer agency liaison for this disaster, has been working since the declaration to coordinate FEMA issues with the state and local task forces.
As always, the local volunteers are doing tremendous work to help their neighbors in their hour of need,” Skalitsky said. “My job is to augment their efforts by working with the state to coordinate national volunteer groups that can help the local effort.”
Virginia is an innovator in the area of local recovery task forces, Skalitsky said. After Hurricane Fran in 1996, the Virginia governor recognized the value of such groups and charged the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development with leading the effort to encourage the creation of such organizations throughout the state. The department appointed Selby Jacobs as state coordinator of local disaster recovery task forces.
Jacobs said, “Ken (Skalitsky) was an excellent partner in this operation. He used his information and knowledge to get additional outside resources in to support the work of the local disaster recovery task forces. It has been a very productive partnership.”
There are many groups, Skalistky said, that will come in to help, but they may depend on local folks for local logistical needs and sustenance.
For example, the local groups can organize sleeping and feeding arrangements for an outside group that pays its own way to come in for two weeks to help with recovery work, such as mucking out homes, removing debris, doing construction.
The task forces identify those affected who have needs not met by federal or state assistance programs, and attempt to match them with volunteer help. The help may come in many forms; money, labor, materials, counseling -- it runs the gamut.
One goal is to maximize the federal and state monetary assistance by matching it with donated labor. By using a FEMA home repair grant to buy materials, for example, a volunteer group can multiply the effect of those dollars by supplying the labor to make the home livable. It’s a marriage of money and muscle that is unbeatable.
Southwest Virginians particularly are fortunate in this area, Jacobs said. Buchanan, Russell and Tazewell counties all have active and ongoing local disaster recovery task forces. These task forces are at work not only during a presidentially declared disaster, but they also may activate in local crises, such as helping a family dispossessed by a fire.
The presence of these organizations when this disaster occurred also resulted in other positive benefits. For the first time, representatives of all three local recovery task forces were represented in a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC). Elements of these groups worked right along with the FEMA, state, U.S. Small Business Administration and others staffing the Richlands DRC. They started working with DRC visitors that appeared they would have unmet needs.
The Rev. Russ Hatfield, chairman of the Tazewell County Local Recovery Task Force, said, “Our presence in the DRC was very beneficial. We were able to register twice as many clients by being there as we had been able to register in the three previous disasters.
“I also especially want to commend the volunteers from all three county (Tazewell, Russell and Buchanan) task forces who came in and staffed the booth in the DRC. That’s really a prime example of people helping people,” he said.
Now that the DRC is closed, the work of the local disaster recovery task forces will increase. These task forces can use a lot of help, too. They especially need volunteers who can donate time, money, services, materials or other types of aid to help their fellow citizens in need. Also, a resident with disaster-related damages and who has exhausted all federal and state disaster assistance, but still has critical unmet needs, can contact the task force in their county.
”What we need are time, talent and money,” Hatfield said. “We really need money. There will be a lot of needs out there, and money is always in demand in these situations.”
For those willing to help or for those who need help, following are the county task forces and contact persons:
Russell County Local Disaster Recovery Task Force, 276-889-8044, ask for Kelly McBride, chairperson.
Tazewell County Local Disaster Recovery Task Force, chairman, The Rev. Russell Hatfield, 276-988-2889, cell phone: 276-970-0576.
Buchanan County Local Disaster Recovery Task Force, chairman, Anita Blevins, 276-935, 8106
On March 1, 2003, FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA's continuing mission within the new department is to lead the effort to prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration.
Last Modified: Friday, 16-Jul-2004 12:23:53