Volunteer program trains Florida county staff to help during hurricanes, other emergencies

Key Takeaways

After Hurricane Ian hit Orange County, Fla., three young adults came into an emergency shelter at Apopka High School after getting stuck in a storm surge. 

“They had gotten trapped in the water for a long time, and when they came in, they were soaked,” said Marva Davis, who works in Orange County’s human resources division. “Their clothes seemed like oil mixed with water and mud and dirt, and it was heartbreaking to see them in that condition.”

Davis stepped in — giving the girl the clothes off her back and finding two basketball uniforms the school had on hand to give to the two boys. They were able to shower, change into new clothes and were given other basic necessities by the shelter, like a toothbrush and toothpaste. 

“When I tell you the look of appreciation on those people’s faces and how much they thanked us — that in itself told us why we do what we do,” Davis said. “Because that could be any one of us at any time.”

Davis has worked to help during a number of emergencies — hurricanes, freezes, floods — which doesn’t traditionally fall under the job description of someone who works in HR, but she also serves as a shelter manager through Orange County’s Volunteer Emergency Responder Program, which provides certification in emergency roles to the county’s non-essential personnel. 

The program trains, prepares and deploys non-essential personnel in emergency roles, which include managing shelters, taking calls for people with special needs, managing points of distribution and coordinating emergency operations. 

All volunteers must go through FEMA’s NIMS (National Incident Management System) certification process, which includes six online courses, and a final certification class through the county that ranges from three to eight hours, depending on which role the volunteer is taking on.

The volunteer program launched in 2004, not long before the hurricane season hit, which Karen Ross, Emergency Management’s special program manager, described as a “whirlwind.” The aim was to build a larger capacity for emergency response and also provide an opportunity for people in non-emergency roles to receive additional pay during an emergency. Roughly 1,000 county employees have participated in the program — 25% of its total non-essential staff over the past two decades — many of whom are certified in multiple emergency roles, according to Ross. 

The American Red Cross worked alongside county staff for shelter management in the event of an emergency until Hurricane Irma hit Orange County in 2017 — just weeks after Hurricane Harvey had caused widespread damage and destruction in Texas. Red Cross staff had already deployed to Houston, leaving Orange County to staff 21 shelters.

“Because we had so many [volunteers] trained, we staffed all 21 of them with our own resources,” Ross said. “And until then, American Red Cross even gave us shelter kits. Well, they said they couldn’t even do that, so it was 3 a.m. and we were finishing 21 individual shelter kits for the shelter leads to come get them at 6 a.m. — in the rain with radios, the whole thing. 

“So, that was the beginning of our independence, so to speak, and looking at the capacity we have internally.”

The Red Cross is still a “major partner” for emergency response in Orange County, but the county has done its own shelter management since Irma, Ross said. Orange County Sheriff’s Office is also planning to adopt the volunteer emergency responder program. 

“They’re our partner, they’re in the field with us every single activation,” Ross said. “So, it was just a really good way to share that incentive and how it works for us, and then they’re going to implement that at some point, hopefully by the [hurricane] season.”

Davis said that she finds it rewarding to work as a shelter manager and emphasized how essential it is to have respect for the people staying in shelters, who are often at their most vulnerable. She said that she hopes in the future that the program can better connect people with ongoing resources when emergency sheltering is over, such as linking them to supportive housing and mental health support.

“A shelter is where there’ll be people who may need some information or help, but as shelter managers, we don’t have all the resources for them,” she said. “… I just wish there were more resources that we could provide to those people who would take the help.”