Hands On Disaster Response is now All Hands Volunteers

And the rain kept on coming…

At the beginning of May, two-thirds of Tennessee experienced the awesome power of Mother Nature, receiving torrential rains causing swollen rivers and streams to crest at record levels. As a result, both the Western and Middle areas of the state were faced with flooding on an unprecedented scale. Tennessee being the ‘Volunteer’ state, they quickly demonstrated how they earned their nickname with neighbor helping neighbor on a statewide level. The Federal Government quickly declared several Counties Federal Disasters allocating both financial and physical resources to jumpstart the recovery process. All told, 45 Counties have fallen under the declaration with the effects of the flooding still being felt across the state.

HODR didn’t launch a traditional Volunteer Project; we did however have an impact by providing coordinative support services with the creation of the ‘Tennessee Recovery Coordination Center, or TN RCC.’ The goal of TN RCC was to expand communications among responding organizations in an effort to reduce the duplication of efforts, to make sure groups had enough work, and to capture and track all that had been done prior to TN RCC implementation.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency

HODR’s involvement in Tennessee marked our first working relationship with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). HODR was offered space in the Joint Field Office (JFO) and was encouraged by the support given while we setup the TN RCC. Having a link to the JFO was immensely helpful in bringing responding partners together to share challenges faced in the field and to clear up any miscommunications. We’re optimistic about the future of how these mutually beneficial relationships can open doors and help HODR become better known for the services we provide.

“People let me tell you ‘bout my best friends…”

We are very excited by the partnerships that have formed during this project and at the prospect of growing them beyond TN as we respond to future events. The running of the TN RCC gave us the opportunity to partner with an Americorps NCCC team; this allowed us to expand our operational scope and engage Corps members in a myriad of tasks ranging from community engagement to providing direct services. The partnership allowed us to train the team up on the day-to-day operational functions of the RCC, while also having Corps Members work as Team Leaders in the field. The attitude and leadership of the NCCC team made it a pleasure to work with them and has enabled us to grow the RCC’s reach and effectiveness in an event of a larger scale.

Who’s Gettin’ It Done?

The bottom line in any event is who can do the work? The Volunteer groups that responded to the flooding were fantastic and we would like to thank all of them for providing their services and for working so closely with us at the TN RCC:

• Nechama, Jewish response to Disaster
• The Corporation for National Community Service – Americorps NCCC and TCCC
• The United Way / 2-1-1 of Nashville, Clarksville and Memphis
• Volunteer Tennessee
• Southeast Nashville Flood Relief Group
• Samaritan’s Purse
• United Methodist Committee On Relief – Memphis Conference
• The Anchor Response Team
• ICNA Relief USA – Disaster Response
• Pleasant View United Methodist Church
• Westminster Presbyterian Church
• Brentwood Baptist Church
• Hands On Nashville
• Jewish Disaster Response Corps
• West Nashville Community Development Partnership
• Hope Force International
• National Association of Christian Churches

Impact

The TN RCC began operations on May 19^th and completed the transition to Volunteer Tennessee and Americorps NCCC on June 11^th. Under HODR’s stewardship our staff volunteered a total of 9200 hours at an estimated cost in donated labor at: $239,200.00.

During RCC operations we compiled, tracked and coordinated over 1000 work requests from across the state, while concurrently setting up an internal organizational infrastructure that enabled the TN RCC to continue its operations after HODR pulled out. In addition to supporting volunteer groups on the ground, we also tracked homeowners who were/are in need of rebuild assistance as well as trying to refer immediate unmet needs to available resources on the ground. Once County Long Term Recovery Groups have been established and become operational, we will supply them with specific homeowner info to jumpstart the Case Management process.

Moving On

As is true of all good things, they must come to an end; and so too has our time in Nashville. We left confident knowing the partnership fostered between Americorps NCCC and Volunteer Tennessee would continue addressing the needs of those affected by the flooding. We believe in their ability to see that Davidson and the surrounding counties continue to progress on their road towards recovery.

People we owe a big NashVegas thank you to:

We would like to thank the Fire 4 Americorps NCCC team for being rock solid, honest and dependable. We’d also like to thank Rev. Jay Voohrees and the Antioch United Methodist Church who graciously housed our team, and for all the work he’s done and will do for the communities recovering.

We’d also like to thank our team: Tiffany Kelley, Sue Glassnor and David Eisenbaum. They came in, worked silly hours and provided much needed support in getting the RCC off the ground. It’s something we repeat but can’t say enough: we love our volunteers—you’re the engine that keeps us going and we look forward to seeing you on future projects.

In response to the widespread flooding that occurred three weeks ago, HODR has launched the Tennessee Recovery Coordination Center (TN RCC) located in Antioch, Tennessee.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be focused on gathering data on residents’ needs and fostering collaboration among responding voluntary organizations active in the flood clean up efforts. We will be managing a database and referral system for direct service needs in the affected communities throughout the state, with a goal of linking voluntary agencies to those affected.

We’re running the RCC in cooperation with Tennessee Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (TN VOAD), Tennessee 2-1-1s , Volunteer Tennessee, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and the Region IV FEMA Voluntary Agency Liasons, among other local and national voluntary agencies and faith based organizations.

Over the next 2 weeks we’ll also be evaluating the potential for launching a full scale volunteer project somewhere in Tennessee based on unmet needs for additional volunteer support.

Check www.HODR.org for more updates over the coming weeks, and follow on Twitter @HODRopsUSA

Over the past several years HODR has built a strong reputation in volunteer & workflow management, which has evolved into our Coordinative Services projects. Thanks to the HODR Family for all your support and engagement over the years!

-Bill Driscoll Jr.
US Operations Director

Over the past few weeks Tennessee has experienced extensive flooding. Thousands of homes have been affected across much of the state. Bill and Jeremey have been engaged in Tennessee Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (TN VOAD) conference calls and in dialogue with several other responding organizations since the flooding began. HODR has now launched an assessment to determine the need for our assistance through coordinative services and/or a volunteer project.

We are exploring the potential to launch a Recovery Coordination system to assist with inter-agency coordination, similar to our recent role in Rhode Island in response to their floods, and we are also assessing the needs and potential for a HODR volunteer project to help with direct cleanup and recovery work.

Follow our progress on Twitter @HODRopsUSA, and stay tuned to www.HODR.org for more information as it becomes available.