Geriatric Mental Health Disaster and Emergency Preparedness

Chapter 9 Volunteers 159
munity competence. The basic idea of social capital is that individuals
invest, access, and use resources embedded in social networks to gain
returns (Norris, et al.). In the case of emergency preparedness, communities
that tap into their social capital will reap the returns of a dedicated
group of individuals working toward the good of the community
while satisfying their own need to contribute and reap personal rewards.
Equivalently, by having volunteers from the community assist during disasters,
people will look to those similar to them for appropriate behaviors
and will thereby expedite necessary procedures, such as evacuation (Norris
et al.). Also essential is ensuring that emergency plans are culturally viable;
recruiting volunteers from various neighborhoods will ensure that the interventions
will be tailored to the cultural and community context.
COMMUNITIES NEED LEADERS PRIOR TO A DISASTER
The first step in developing a community emergency plan that includes
volunteers is to identify the leaders. Leadership is key; in order to be prepared,
the community must have leaders who believe a disaster could
actually occur (Gibson & Hayunga, 2006). In all communities, there are
formal and informal leaders. Identifying these leaders in the community
and in preexisting organizations, networks, and communal relationships,
and recruiting them as volunteers during a crisis, is key to rapidly mobilizing
emergency and ongoing support services (Norris, et al., 2008). Engaging
leaders to work within their communities to develop emergency
plans will ensure that the leaders and community members are more committed
to executing the plan. A main finding from the hazards research
literature is that effective leadership appears vital to people’s commitment
to the process in terms of structuring tasks and communicating
clearly (Ronan & Johnson, 2005). Therefore, identifying and nurturing
community leaders is an investment in building community resilience
and social capital. Findings indicate the first steps toward helping a community
become more aware of the need for change, such as engaging a
community in developing an emergency plan, involve just one person or
a small group of people who will champion the idea and move it forward
within the community (Ronan & Johnson). One example of leadership recruitment
and training aimed at bringing a community together to develop
an emergency plan was undertaken by the New York City Office
of Emergency Management when they contracted with the Empowerment
Institute to conduct a pilot program called All Together Now . The