[KYHAM] KEN Training for Aug. 4: What is VOAD?

[Ron Dodson]

Organization is a key factor in making any successful disaster
response.  There are many organizations out there who serve in
disasters to help the victims to return to a normal life. 
Organizations like the Mennonite Disaster Services, Adventist
Community Services, Christian Disaster Response, Salvation Army,
American Red Cross and ARES are all members of an organization
called VOAD. This week we turn the floor over to Tom Curry, N4OAF
who gave us this explanation of VOAD.

What is VOAD?

VOAD,    V, O, A, D,   stands for Voluntary Organizations Active
in Disaster.

At the national level VOAD is a consortium of recognized national
voluntary organizations active in disaster relief. Its mission is
to foster more effective service to people affected by disasters. 

After Hurricane Camille in 1969, it became clear to several
organizations who regularly helped disaster victims that their
services were frequently duplicated and uncoordinated. For
example, two organizations would be feeding disaster victims on
opposite corners. Representatives from seven organizations began
to meet on a regular basis to share their respective activities,
concerns, and frustrations in disaster response. This developed
into the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster or
National VOAD, which now has more than thirty member
organizations, including the American Red Cross, the Salvation
Army, the disaster relief programs of most major religious
organizations, and of course, the American Radio Relay League.

Kentucky VOAD is the Kentucky state chapter of National VOAD.  It
consists of organizations active in disaster response throughout
the state of Kentucky.

VOAD bases its mission on these four values:

Cooperation. By this we mean that we need each other, that no
member organization has all the answers for the challenges we
face. We treat members as partners. 

Communication. Here we mean the regular sharing of information
about our member organizations-their capacities, accomplishments,
and commitments. We try to maintain good channels for sharing
information, listen carefully to each other, and deal openly with
concerns.

Coordination. We commit ourselves to work together and not
competitively toward our goal of effective service to disaster
victims. We seek to match services to need. Through planning and
preparation, we equip our organizations to behave in a
coordinated fashion in time of disaster.

Collaboration. We dedicate ourselves to work together to achieve
specific goals and to undertake specific projects at disaster
sites. We form partnerships during the disaster response. 

VOAD is committed to the idea that the best time to train,
prepare, and become acquainted with each other is prior to the
actual disaster response.

VOAD itself is never a service-delivery organization - all
disaster response services are provided by the member agencies,
under their own organization structure and policies.  VOAD's role
is to bring the organizations together enable them to understand
each other and work together more smoothly.  To accomplish these
goals, Kentucky VOAD meets four times each year and encourages
member organizations to share information and training
opportunities.