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By JO-ANN JOHNSTON The Tampa Tribune
Published: Jun 22, 2006
Subject: Disaster Dream Team Needs Volunteers, Leaders Say
Disaster Dream Team Needs Volunteers, Leaders Say
ST. LEO - If a major hurricane hits here, Pasco County's emergency workers will need the help of volunteers from churches and community groups to get food and aid to the afflicted.
The devastation Hurricane Charley left behind in Charlotte County in 2004 and that Hurricane Katrina unleashed on the Gulf Coast last year proved government agencies need help from locals, said Jim Johnston, emergency operations coordinator for Pasco County.
"The faith-based groups pick up where government stops," Johnston told a gathering of church and community groups Wednesday at Saint Leo University.
Toys for Toys of East Pasco organized this year's conference, the Fifth Annual Congress of The American Dream, so county staffers and volunteers can improve disaster relief plans to better protect the county's poor.
Those already living in poverty have the hardest time getting back on their feet if a storm wrecks their homes, spoils their food or puts them out of work. But government workers can't pinpoint storm victims without help from community leaders, Johnston said.
In fact, the best way to keep help flowing to any community is to use local volunteers who are used to working with one another, Johnston said. They can run food distribution centers after National Guard units leave - typically, after three days.
Johnston encouraged volunteer groups to sign up with his office. The county can provide basic emergency training to a limited number of groups, he said.
Local groups should also tell the county emergency management department now about people who would be particularly vulnerable in an emergency because of medical problems.
The county traditionally has thought of the people who need to be transported to shelters during a storm as the frail elderly or people who need oxygen machines. But deaf residents or children who use wheelchairs also may require added attention, so emergency workers need to know about them, Johnston said. To report a need, call his office at (727) 847-8137.
Heather Fiorentino, Pasco County schools superintendent, said the school district will do more - lending school buses, for example - to ferry people to emergency shelters when necessary. But volunteer groups will still be critically needed during a major storm, she said.
Terry Lightfoot, a social worker attending the conference, said she worries whether the Spanish-speaking community understands the storm warnings and tips issued.
"The information is out there for all of us," said Lightfoot, a staffer at Farmworkers Self-Help Inc. in Tommytown, which assists migrants. "But all of us don't have access to it because of language barriers," she said.
Contact Jo-Ann Johnston at (352) 521-3062 or jfjohnston@tampatrib.com.
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