VOLUNTEERISM ARCHIVES
Wanted: Mental Health Support for Disaster Trauma
Mary McNaughton-Cassill, Mary Schoenfeldt and Ruth Baugher Palmer
August 3, 2022
Disaster response organizations have become increasingly adept at meeting the basic needs of survivors, including shelter, food, water, and medical treatment. However, traumatic disaster-related experiences – including threats to life, exposure to death and injury, and the destruction of homes and communities – also take a psychological toll on survivors. Common responses to
Working Together: Partnership, Training, Funding & Tolerance
Catherine L. Feinman
June 22, 2022
When community stakeholders work together to prepare for emergencies and disasters, they will be better prepared and have more resources to face whatever threats, risks, and hazards are in their future. Four key aspects to consider when building community resilience are addressed in this June edition of the Domestic Preparedness
Protecting Life and Safety – A Job for Everyone
Catherine L. Feinman
May 25, 2022
Firefighters, emergency medical services, law enforcement officers, and emergency managers can create force multipliers through the education and training of other community stakeholders. This May edition of the Domestic Preparedness Journal provides valuable information for emergency response organizations to consider when fortifying their efforts and engaging other community stakeholders.
Bipartisan Commission Says Nation Unprepared for Biological Events
Asha M. George and John T. O'Brien
March 9, 2022
On 17 February 2022, Dr. Asha M. George, executive director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, testified as an expert witness before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs at a hearing on addressing the gaps in the nation’s biodefense and level of preparedness to respond to
Predictable Surge: A Pilot in Providence
Sara Kelly
January 26, 2022
Collaboration between public entities and private companies is essential to prepare for disasters. However, current partnerships can be formal and cumbersome to the point of detriment, or impromptu and do little to achieve their goals. This unmet need to find appropriate partnership mechanisms could be addressed by the Harvard National
The First Open-Source Equitable Decision Intelligence Model
Eric Kant, Joel Thomas, Chauncia Willis, Sarah K. Miller, Nissim Titan, Tzofit Chen, Brian Kruzan, Camila Tapias and Alexa Squirini
January 5, 2022
When incidents are catastrophic and/or happen in compromised environments, complexity can increase rapidly and dramatically, compromising response objectives and resulting in catastrophic failure. The cost of these failures is measured in destruction and human lives, making even minimal reductions in capabilities untenable. A rapidly changing environment requires that the modern
Transportation Security in a Holistic Homeland Security Enterprise
Daniel Rector
December 22, 2021
Transportation security is the act of ensuring the protection and continued functioning of mobility systems for both people and commerce. It includes air, maritime, and all forms of surface transport. Transportation security is an enormous undertaking involving all government levels, the private sector, volunteer organizations, and the public. These organizations
Resilience After 2021: Unfinished Business & Future Agenda
Robert McCreight
December 1, 2021
In 2021, many questions have been raised about resilience. Is more known about resilience and have more leverage tools been retained to establish resilience at will than a decade ago? What ideas and notions were expected 10 years ago in energizing resilience tasks, activities, and operations? Has the leverage needed
Security Lessons Learned – Part 1, Boston Marathon Bombings
Daniel Rector
September 1, 2021
Acts of terrorism continue to affect communities worldwide. As the public tries to retain a semblance of everyday life by attending outdoor events, emergency planners must adapt to new intelligence and learn from past attacks. A review of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings identifies the event security plans’ strengths and
Different Sides of Disaster Support
Catherine L. Feinman
August 25, 2021
Disaster support often conjures the image of boots-on-the-ground responders providing aid to survivors on scene. However, disaster support involves so much more that is accomplished at each phase of the disaster management cycle. These efforts include creating codes and standards, building a workforce, providing financial aid, and offering psychological support.
Building Codes Support Disaster Preparedness & Resilience
Karl Fippinger
August 11, 2021
Building codes and standards have long been a silent partner in the health, safety, and welfare of communities and are becoming increasingly more important in society. Today’s emergency managers and community leaders face a multitude of risks including extreme weather events such as hurricanes, tornados, straight-line winds, flooding, drought, and
Bringing Back the Preparedness Mindset
Catherine L. Feinman
July 28, 2021
Since 1998, DomPrep authors and readers have touted the need to prepare for disasters. There is a consensus among preparedness, response, and resilience professionals that forethought is the key to community resilience following a disaster. The desire to prepare is demonstrated through action: innumerable studies and best practices have been
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