Disaster Action Teams

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Disaster Action Teams (DATs) are staffed by trained volunteers who are on-call week nights and weekends to respond to local disasters such as house fires and provide immediate assistance to those affected. There are also individual volunteers who are on-call week days to respond to small local disasters.  DAT members are often the first faces of the American Red Cross to those affected.

Red Cross disaster relief focuses on meeting people’s immediate emergency disaster-caused needs. When a disaster threatens or strikes, the Red Cross provides shelter, food, and health and mental health services to address basic human needs. In addition to these services, the core of Red Cross disaster relief is the assistance given to individuals and families affected by disaster to enable them to resume their normal daily activities independently.

Just as in large disasters such as hurricanes and floods, your local Red Cross provides financial assistance to local victims of disaster for emergency items like food, clothing, bedding and shelter.  Through the support of donors and volunteers, the Red Cross is able to:

• Supply vouchers that provide food, clothing, temporary shelter, personal care items to those affected by a disaster;
• Supply vouchers to replace household furnishings, prescription medications and occupational supplies;
• Provide essential physical and mental health services;
• Feed emergency workers,
• Handle inquiries from concerned relatives outside the disaster area; and
• Refer those affected by a disaster to other resources if necessary.

What does it take to be a DAT member? DAT members are dependable and available to respond according to their chosen schedule, communicate and interact well in a team setting and under the leadership of the team captain and have completed all required training.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can train to become a Disaster Action Team volunteer, contact Dawn Roberts, Regional Disaster Services Coordinator at droberts@hrredcross.org.

Join us for a Disaster Services:  An Overview course on Saturday, August 13th at 10am at our Pembroke Ave. location (1323 Pembroke Ave., Hampton).  This course serves as an excellent introduction to Red Cross services and our local/regional disaster services programs.

For more information, please contact Dawn at 838-7320.