How should you plan for managing and coordinating spontaneous volunteers

Despite the best planning efforts with NGOs and other entities, spontaneous volunteers are likely to self-dispatch to the incident scene. If both internal and external organizations do not plan for these volunteers, they will not be engaged effectively, and the situation can get out of control.

A well-planned strategy for engaging spontaneous volunteers can change a potential problem into a benefit for the:

• Emergency survivors.
• Jurisdiction.
• Volunteers themselves.

When well planned for, spontaneous volunteers have:

• Proven to be a cost-effective resource during response and short-term recovery operations.
• Offered a wide range of expertise and experience.
• Provided services that allow paid staff and first responders to focus their efforts on tasks that need their attention.
• Provided resources that may otherwise be unavailable during an emergency.

To ensure that spontaneous volunteers are used to the best possible purpose, they must be managed effectively.

Planning should always include the Volunteer Program Coordinator and all organizations participating in volunteer management.

Managing spontaneous volunteers is based on the principles shown below and on the next screen.

• Volunteering is a valuable part of every jurisdiction. When spontaneous volunteers are well managed, the volunteers contribute to the healing process of survivors and the entire jurisdiction.
• Members of the jurisdiction should be encouraged to become affiliated with an established agency or organization before any disaster, if possible, and should be trained for the role they will play in response and recovery activities.
• Emergency response provides an excellent opportunity to direct volunteers toward long-term affiliation and community involvement.

Other principles for managing spontaneous volunteers include:

• Spontaneous volunteer management should be part of the jurisdiction’s Volunteer and Donations Management Annex.
• Clear, consistent, and timely communication is required for effective management of spontaneous volunteers.
• Consistent terminology is imperative when referring to spontaneous volunteers. Pick a term, and stick with it.

The principles should be incorporated into a plan for managing spontaneous volunteers. The plan will help direct spontaneous volunteer efforts effectively. A spontaneous volunteer plan is valuable in other ways as well. It ensures that all who have a role in spontaneous volunteer management are:

• Clear on who is in charge of assigning, supervising, and deactivating the volunteers.
• Using common language.
• Following pre-determined procedures.

Working from and adherence to a written (and exercised) plan can also limit the jurisdiction’s/agency’s liability in the case of injuries to volunteers.

In an emergency, decisions and communications need to be made quickly and information must be released quickly and efficiently. To make volunteer management easier, the plan should:

• Include the purpose, assumptions, and policies to guide the management of spontaneous volunteers.
• Guide community organizations in engaging spontaneous volunteers.
• Include post-disaster public education strategies.
• Prepare organizations to activate and operate the Volunteer Reception Center (VRC), and identify who is authorized to open and close the VRC.
• Include post-disaster public messaging strategies and boilerplate public service announcements (PSAs), where practical.
• Include detailed VRC procedures.

The plan purpose, assumptions, and risk management strategy establish a context for plan implementation. These sections of the plan should:

• Describe the relationships between the emergency management agency and organization(s) designated to manage spontaneous volunteers.
• Specify which organization will be responsible for the costs of managing spontaneous volunteers.
• Determine whether and when to activate a toll-free phone number.
• Include whether and how spontaneous volunteers should register by computer, the basic data needed, and identification required when registering.

Additional information that should be contained in this section of the annex includes:

• How requests for volunteers will be prioritized.
• How spontaneous volunteers will be trained and which exercises they must participate in.
• How volunteers will be supervised and evaluated.
• How VRC staff will be trained.
• Contingencies for backup plans for power failure or other operational disruptions.
• How in-State mutual aid and Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) agreements might be used to augment VRC staff.

The plan also should provide a strategy for educating the public between emergencies. The strategy should:

• Encourage the public to volunteer with a recognized organization before an emergency.
• Explain the advantages of becoming affiliated with a recognized organization.
• Describe the importance of not self-deploying, and the potential negative effects for the response and the volunteer if people self-deploy.
• Identify what volunteers should bring if they are deployed (e.g., water, gloves, goggles, nonperishable food).

A VRC may not be required in all emergencies but should be planned for nonetheless. In larger emergencies or disasters, a VRC can serve to organize the volunteer response by:

• Registering spontaneous volunteers so organizations know who has reported, their skills, and other important information required for assignment.
• Matching the skills of spontaneous volunteers to agencies or voluntary organizations needing assistance.

The plan should include guidance to prepare one or more agencies to activate and operate a VRC and who can authorize VRC activation.

Based on past emergencies, there are several important operational issues to take into account when planning for VRC operations. These issues include:

• Conduct volunteer orientation to ensure each volunteer understands expectations, policies, etc.
• Establish volunteer identification system that addresses the type(s) of identification to be issued, access restrictions based on identification issued, and timeframes for reissuance to ensure that all volunteers onsite have been registered.
• Coordinatewith emergency management, public information, and other key response/recovery functions.
• Assign responsibility for maintenance of volunteer database(s).
• Establish documentation system for recording volunteer hours, especially if they are eligible for reimbursement from FEMA.

When an emergency requires activating the VRC, activation must occur quickly and efficiently. Procedures for establishing a VRC should be developed jointly with stakeholders, in advance of any disaster or emergency, and agreement should be reached on:

• Site selection.
• Staffing.
• Other resource support.
• What agency or agencies will pay for what aspects of VRC operations.

VRC activation should be approved by agency or organization leaders and included in volunteer agreements. Procedures should be incorporated into a Volunteer Management Annex to the Emergency Operations Plan and exercised as part of the jurisdiction’s overall response plan.

Site selection for the VRC is extremely important. Any site under consideration as a VRC should:

• Be out of high-risk areas.
• Be secure, either by location or through other security measures.
• Be large enough to accommodate all VRC stations, equipment, and traffic flow.
• Provide adequate space for volunteers.
• Include areas for conferences, orientations, and safety briefings.
• Have food facilities or be within walking distance to food sources.
• Provide adequate parking for staff and volunteers.

Empty stores may make good VRCs.

Large or wide-scale incidents will draw a large number of spontaneous volunteers. The VRC will require considerable resources to process the flow efficiently. The next several screens will describe needed resources.

Adequate staffing is critical to effective management of spontaneous volunteers. Every VRC staff position should be considered carefully and filled with individuals who have trained and exercised for the job.

Note that other positions may be needed, depending on the volunteer turnout.

The VRC will need specific equipment to ensure proper volunteer intake, registration, assignment, safety, and demobilization. Resource availability and deployment times (by organization) should have been covered during plan development and will include:

• Office furniture, including space dividers
• Office supplies
• White boards or chalk boards
• Communication equipment (e.g., radios, faxes, computers, etc.)
• Software
• Maps and map stands
• Directional signs
• Hygiene supplies
• Vehicles

Other equipment may be required as well. Check the resource list for the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for other equipment suggestions.

Risk management and safety present challenges for volunteer and emergency management at incident sites. Most incident sites are dangerous places, and volunteers who are onsite to respond and assist must be protected from harm.

Because volunteer safety and risk management are paramount, it is crucial that volunteer programs develop, implement, and adhere to safety policies. Some policies that can help keep volunteers safe are listed below.

• Implement an identification system that limits volunteers’ access to areas where they are assigned. Photo IDs are best. Colored stickers can be used to identify approved areas. If site access remains a problem, IDs should be changed and reissued at specified intervals.
• Develop security procedures for spontaneous volunteers. Use a guard or other mechanism to verify site authorization.
• Issue personal protective equipment (PPE), train volunteers in how to use it, and enforce use of such equipment.

Because VRCs manage spontaneous volunteers who provide life safety and sustainment services, volunteer hours can be used as an offset against the grantee’s cost share requirement for FEMA reimbursement.

To provide accurate costs that may be eligible for reimbursement, the jurisdiction should record the hours served by spontaneous and affiliated volunteers doing work that is eligible for FEMA reimbursement. These costs are eligible as part of the non-Federal share or local match for Federal reimbursement.

The only acceptable ways to determine the value of a volunteer is to determine the:

• Hourly rate, including benefits, at which a government employee would be paid to do the work, OR
• Hourly rate the jurisdiction would have to pay a contractor to do the work.

Recognition by the jurisdiction for a job well done helps retain volunteers and encourages them to affiliate with recognized organizations.

Documentation of voluntary accomplishments also can be used to support grant proposals and increase the perceived value of the volunteers to the community.

Volunteers can be recognized in any number of ways. Common recognition methods include:

• Certificates
• An appreciation dinner

Regardless of how volunteers are recognized, a senior elected or appointed official should participate in the event.

When the influx of spontaneous volunteers subsides and remaining volunteers can be managed by the organization responsible for the VRC from its regular office or directed by long-term recovery organizations, the VRC can be demobilized.

Demobilization should take place in accordance with the spontaneous volunteer management plan. The decision to demobilize should be made among key stakeholders, and a date should be determined several days in advance of beginning the closure.

The steps required to demobilize the VRC usually include:

• Arranging for documentation storage to ensure analysis and retention.
• Returning of borrowed property.
• Cleaning and restoring the VRC to its original condition.
• Ensuring that all VRC personnel (paid and unpaid) have access to disaster stress management assistance, if needed.
• Conducting a “hot wash” to discuss the forms, procedures, partners, and operating hours to determine whether changes need to be made to improve future operations.

Stress is part of everyone’s life. Stress is usually compounded in an emergency situation. During the course of performing their assigned duties, some volunteers may witness scenes that cause extreme stress reactions, including:

• Death and injury.
• Property devastation.
• Extreme emotional reactions of survivors.

Also, disaster response work often takes place under less than ideal working conditions. Long hours and skipped meals can contribute to volunteer stress.

There are steps to take before, during, and after an emergency to manage stress.

• Before. During the volunteer orientation or during stress management seminars, ask seasoned volunteers to talk about how they have dealt with stress.
• During. Ensure that volunteers are matched to appropriate job assignments, get regular meals and breaks, and are rotated out at the end of a reasonable-length shift. (Note that “reasonable” shift length will vary based on the size, type, and complexity of the incident; the job; and other factors.)
• After. Invite a mental health professional to hold a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD). CISD involves gathering people who were involved in a crisis to discuss their reactions with their peers.

Each activity undertaken to mitigate volunteer stress is part of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM).

This lesson introduced you to:

• The benefits of managing spontaneous volunteers.
• The principles and values guiding management of spontaneous volunteers.
• Planning for managing spontaneous volunteers.
• Planning for managing and reducing volunteer stress.

The next lesson will summarize the course and prepare you to take the final exam.