Congregation: Preparedness coordinator · phone: Backup coordinator · phone:
Before
Leadership
- A preparedness coordinator and a backup are named and known to the congregation.
- Preparedness is on the leadership’s regular agenda, not only after an event.
- Each team below has a lead, a backup and a written page describing its job.
Contacts
- A confidential list of members who live alone, depend on power or refrigerated medicine, cannot drive, or care for someone who needs constant attention.
- Each person on that list is paired with someone who will call or knock.
- A communication tree, on paper, in more than one place, with a way that works without phones.
- The county emergency management office’s number, and the name of the person there who works with faith-based organizations.
- The state or local VOAD contact.
- Nearby congregations and their coordinators.
Facilities
- Where the water, gas and electrical shut-offs are, and who knows how to use them.
- Which rooms are safest, which have no windows, and how many people the hall holds comfortably.
- What the kitchen and restrooms can do without power or water.
- What the insurance policy and the fire code allow the building to be used for.
- Lit entrances, a sign-in sheet, and a first aid station location.
Teams
- Communication
- Food and water
- Medical support
- Vulnerable-person check-ins
- Transportation
- Facilities
- Childcare
- Sanitation
- Spiritual care
- Logistics
Supplies
- Water, shelf-stable food, light, first aid, sanitation and cleaning supplies, blankets, in the amounts Ready.gov’s guidance for houses of worship describes.
- A dated inventory, and someone who rotates and replaces.
- No fuel and no generators stored or run indoors.
Training
- First aid, CPR and AED training hosted in the building; who holds it.
- CERT training for team leads.
- A skills inventory of the congregation, kept current.
Agreements
- The church has introduced itself to the county emergency management office.
- The church is in contact with its VOAD chapter and knows how volunteers are registered.
- Whether the building can serve as a warming, cooling or gathering site has been discussed with the county.
- A walk-through of one scenario has been held with the team leads.
During
Activation
- The coordinator and the pastor decide whether to open the building.
- Team leads are told through the communication tree.
- One person is assigned to relay official information, in the officials’ words, with the time heard.
Check-ins
- The vulnerable-person list is worked first; every person is reached or visited.
- What each person needs is written down and passed to the right team.
Opening the building
- Someone who knows the building has checked it before anyone enters.
- Light, restrooms, water and seating are working.
- Sign-in sheet at the door; leaders know who is inside.
Safety
- Adults with children at all times, with the same standards used on Sunday.
- First aid station staffed; 911 for anything beyond first aid.
- No generators or fuel indoors.
- Official responders are welcomed and their instructions followed.
Food and water
- The kitchen runs as it does for a potluck; the sanitation team keeps hands, surfaces and waste under control.
- What is used is recorded.
Spiritual care
- A quiet room, prayer, a listening ear, worship if it is wanted.
- The pastor and elders are present and visible.
After
Accounting for people
- Every member and every neighbor on the list is known to be safe or in someone’s care.
Documenting
- What was done, what was spent, who helped, what ran out, what would have helped.
- Photographs and notes of any damage to the building.
Rest
- The people who ran the building have been told to stop and rest.
Review
- Team leads meet within a few weeks and change the plan.
- The congregation gathers to hear what happened and what was learned.
Repair
- What broke is fixed; what was used is replaced; the inventory is dated again.
Reviewed on: