Citizen Corps Councils
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Kansas City Metropolitan Community Organizations Active in Disaster
Building on Existing Strengths in Disaster Response
- Overview
- Council Background
- Strategy
- Council Results
- Next Steps
- Kansas City Metropolitan Community Organizations Active in DisasterContact
Overview
Kansas City Metropolitan Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) was originally formed to provide an extra blanket of stability and safety for the citizens of the metropolitan Kansas City, Missouri area.
The Kansas City COAD was first assembled in November 2000 to bringing together a handpicked team from the metropolitan area’s private and public-sector entities with an interest in and the ability to coordinate the efforts of volunteers and public-service organizations in times of disaster.
With the advent of Citizen Corps, the COAD embraced the expanded responsibility of ensuring all residents of Kansas City are prepared for any emergency, that residents have access to training and have the opportunity to volunteer to support their local first responders.
Council Background
Before the creation of the Kansas City COAD, the metropolitan Kansas City area relied on the Metropolitan Emergency Management Committee for coordinating disaster response. Sensing a need for a greater attention to the personal effects of disasters, Dee Shukert, Divisional Director of Emergency Disaster Services for the Salvation Army, and Dante Gliniecki, the statewide volunteer coordinator for the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (EMA), decided to create an organization dedicated to coordinating critical services to individuals and families in times of disaster. Shukert noted that she “knew the Kansas City area would benefit greatly” from such an enterprise.
The pair approached the task of creating this organization knowing the importance of the four Cs advocated by the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (NVOAD): Cooperation, Coordination, Collaboration and Communication. They also realized that volunteers would be needed to form the backbone of such a coordinating organization. With the support of the local Red Cross office, they set about the task of recruiting for their group. Shukert and Gliniecki persuaded the local chapter of the United Way to provide its mailing list of area leaders, and the two crafted an invitation that was mailed from the Missouri State EMA office.
The inaugural meeting of Kansas City COAD in November 2000 was attended by representatives from 30 to 40 organizations, but quickly mushroomed to a membership of 137 representatives from 80 organizations, ranging from faith-based groups and area universities to the National Weather Service and the Humane Society.
The mission for this new organization would be “...to bring together community organizations at all levels who are, or desire to be, active in disaster, including relevant businesses and government agencies, to foster more efficient and effective service to people affected by disaster in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area through cooperation, coordination, communication, and collaboration.”
As Shukert and Gliniecki’s vision took form and gained momentum, it attracted the attention of area governmental figures, and when the Bush Administration launched the Citizen’s Corps program in 2002, the leaders of Kansas City COAD took on the role of the area’s Citizen’s Corps Council – while retaining their name. This provides an excellent example of how important it is to tap existing resources to embrace the mission of Citizen Corps and how to work with existing organizations to leverage talents and energies.
Strategy
The Kansas City COAD serves the same region as the Mid-American Regional Council (MARC), an organization composed of city and county governments that functions as a metropolitan planning organization. Participating cities and counties assess the threats to their areas and identify the needs of their citizens, and the resulting information allows the COAD and MARC to coordinate their disaster-response resources with those of FEMA and the state’s EMA to make the most of their resources.
The Kansas City COAD uses monthly meetings to refine the coordination of services and to address current needs brought on by new threats. For specific tasks, the COAD forms subcommittees such as the Unmet Needs Committee, which tackles any gaps in the services provided to area citizens. Knowing the importance of training and preparation, the COAD relies on member organizations to assure that volunteers are ready with the knowledge and skills they need to be productive. Volunteers are encouraged to join a member organization to be adequately trained to meet the complex and demanding work of disaster preparedness and response.
Member organizations of the COAD and contact information is available at: http://www.goodsamaritancenter.com/coad/
Council Results
On January 29, 2002, the worst ice storm the region had seen in a century hit the Kansas City metropolitan area. According to FEMA, the ice storm crippled electrical service to 400,000 residents in Kansas alone, and disaster funding related to the ice storm in Kansas and Missouri totaled $111 million.
Although the COAD was still in its formative stages when the ice storm of 2002 arrived, it still managed to convene in a critical 72-hour window after the storm hit and to work with AmeriCorps to address the needs of many, especially the elderly and low-income citizens whose lives and homes were at risk from debris and damaged trees. The COAD and AmeriCorps volunteers aided 1,800 of their neighbors by securing debris removal services and providing food assistance and financial support.
The clean-up effort lasted seven months, and demanded wide-ranging and intense effort to remove threats to the health and safety of citizens presented by the debris. The COAD also kept local governments updated on their progress with monthly briefings.
In May 2003, Mother Nature again lashed out at the Kansas City area as five tornados tore through the region. Two of the tornadoes warranted an F4 rating, defined as a “devastating tornado,” packing winds of 207-260 mph. Within days, 65 members of the COAD mobilized an army of volunteers in support of area First Responders and other disaster response efforts. The value of a COAD’s ability to tap into volunteer resources could not have been more apparent than at these times, when the fabric of the community was put to the test by these disasters.
Next Steps
With a commitment to expanding their role in helping the Kansas City metro area be better prepared, the COAD reaches out to citizens via events such as the recent Kansas City Home Show with exhibits and printed materials, and participates in a number of federal initiatives. The COAD and MARC also work closely together to focus on Public Education Programs, such as Team 9-1-1 to help teach children ages 4-7 how to get help in an emergency, the Safety City News publication, and working with the Local Emergency Planning Committee, which recently purchased a community education trailer that members may use as a public education tool at events in their communities. The trailer contains a variety of educational brochures and information, including a Level A chemical protection suit and a NOAA all-hazard alert radio,.
The COAD and MARC are also working to expand the Citizen Corps programs throughout the area, including CERT, Neighborhood Watch, and VIPS. With a grant from HHS, the MARC is also developing a Medical Reserve Corps unit.
The COAD is also focused on developing a sustainable internal structure, to include grooming successors for leadership positions, recruiting more government agencies and appropriate non-profit organizations, and eventually bringing the private sector on board.
With the metro Kansas City area spanning eight counties in the states of Missouri and Kansas, Citizen Corps must tie together a range of entities with various jurisdictional priorities and political preferences. Through the COAD, the Missouri counties of Cass, Clay, Jackson, Platte and Ray, and the Kansas counties of Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte can quickly and smartly pool their resources in times of crisis. The area’s population of 1.8 million offers a deep reservoir of talent for the Council to draw from, but that same diversity means that Citizen Corps must be implemented with an eye towards meeting the specific needs of a wide range of ethnic groups and income levels as well as the elderly and special needs populations.