The American Red Cross of Southwestern New York will offer disaster training for those interested in volunteering in shelters, national level disaster assistance, or for the local Disaster Action Team in Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties.
In order to ensure area disaster responders are ready and prepared, the American Red Cross offers all disaster training free of charge.
Disaster Assessment Basics and Fundamentals will be from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Red Cross Office in Jamestown. Volunteers interested in supporting a local incident such as a fire or national response should take this course to learn preparedness tasks, how to collect and communicate disaster assessment information and become familiar with how to support services delivery decisions.
Disaster Services Overview and Shelter Operation will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, on the Alfred State College Campus, with a specific location to be determined. The course is recommended for all disaster volunteers as the first course to set a foundation; a requirement of all affiliated disaster volunteers. The course provides an overview as to what the organization structure is and how it functions during a disaster.
Shelter Simulation will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, at the Red Cross Office in Olean. The course is open for volunteers interested in working on shelter operation teams in their county.
Psychological First Aid will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, at the Red Cross Office in Olean. Psychological First Aid is a requirement of all affiliated disaster volunteers and is designed to help with understanding the factors that affect stress responses of clients and workers.
To register for any of the classes, call American Red Cross located in Jamestown at 664-5115; Olean at 372-5800; or Wellsville at 585-593-1531. The American Red Cross of Southwestern New York is a United Way agency.