The Ultimate Guide for Empowering Disaster Area Volunteers
More than 1 billion people volunteer each year worldwide. This manual is dedicated to those who make a difference in building community, resilience, recovery, hope, and joy.
facilitating healing from traumatic stress
A Manual for Post Disaster Volunteer Work Teams
Today’s world is filled with traumatic events. Our news each day reports the natural and human-caused disasters of our community, nation, and world. When such events occur, resources around the world are often mobilized in a variety of ways to help provide for physical and emotional care.
Some areas are fortunate to have organizations with a broad variety of resources to be on the ground in a timely manner. While others, activate plans to send in teams that help provide later “recovery programs.” These groups and organizations not only have professionals, but they also have a variety of skilled volunteers. And finally, there is the ad hoc support that is provided by “neighbor to neighbor,” caring individuals, and self-formed groups who, motivated only by the desire of their hearts, start helping to access resiliency, rebuilding, and community recovery.
This booklet is the result of crafting manageable ways for those first people interacting with the survivors of the various kinds of traumatic stress.
Who this Manual is for
Post-disaster volunteer coordinators
Volunteer work team leaders
Professionals who work with trauma
First responders
Teachers and school administrations
Disaster intake personnel
Church leaders
Emergency response teams
Volunteers
Read this manual, put it into action, and have a better-trained team of volunteers who know how to facilitate the healing process better for the survivors of disasters.
Want to see how your teams and organization match up?? Take our Disaster Preparedness Assessment!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Warren Dale
Warren Dale is a retired licensed marriage and family therapist who specialized in trauma recovery. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Traumatic Stress and the Center for Crisis Management. He has travelled to many places to conduct post-disaster training: Bosnia, Kosovo- Kosovar, El Salvador, Angola, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, New York after 9/11, Mississippi and Louisiana after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and Mexico. He was a member of a network where he provided supportive crisis interventions after deaths, violence, and other losses in the workplace. He is also an ordained minister who received an honorary doctorate for his work in traumatic stress.