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Red Cross to offer volunteer training
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The Rev. Ash Welch of Boardman United Methodist Church on Market Street is teaming up with the Red Cross of the Mahoning Valley. The Red Cross will offer mass shelter training sessions for volunteers Friday and Saturday at the church.
BOARDMAN
Earlier this year, a gas leak forced the evacuation of 90 homes in Boardman and although the nearest township Red Cross shelter was notified, it took almost 45 minutes for a volunteer shelter operation team to arrive from Warren.
That’s something the Red Cross and township residents hope to change.
The Red Cross will offer shelter volunteer training for all Mahoning County residents. The training is from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Boardman United Methodist Church, 6809 Market St.
“By the time [volunteers] arrived, the gas leak was repaired and people could go home, which is the best way for it to go,” said the Rev. Ash Welch, pastor at the Methodist church, which is one of dozens of designated mass shelters in Mahoning County.
Jessica Jaros, director of Emergency Services at the Red Cross of Mahoning Valley, said the agency was prepared for that situation.
“It’s not that we don’t have volunteers, and we do have a large number of shelters in Mahoning County,” Jaros said. “[The gas leak] was during the middle of the day, and some of them were working.”
Karen Conklin, the agency’s executive director, said the Red Cross is “always looking for more volunteers, and the training is always free.”
Jaros said volunteers must be over 18 and have a valid driver’s license. Volunteers also undergo an interview and background check.
During the upcoming training, volunteers will have an introduction to disaster services and the Red Cross mission on Friday and will learn shelter operations and have a simulated crisis Saturday, Jaros said.
The Red Cross opens shelters during any large disaster that would cause people to be displaced for more than 24 hours, such as fire, flood or tornadoes, she said.
The Mr. Rev. Welch, who has served on several disaster response boards before moving to Boardman, said he believes disaster response is a “community affair.”
“We should rely on our community response first and the government’s last,” he said.
The Red Cross plans to have another Mahoning County shelter operations training in three or four months. To register for this weekend’s training or for more information, call the Red Cross at 330-392-2551, ext. 116.