WESTERN MASS
R E G I O N A L S H E LT E R
SYSTEM PLANNING
PROJECT
Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire
PROJECT GOALS
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Provide templates and tools
Educate about best practices
Improve local capabilities
Promote regional systems and plans
Provide and manage regional supplies
Train and exercise plans
CHALLENGES
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Shelters are small villages – very complex
Regional Command and Control
Local buy-in
Regional funding mechanisms
Sufficient numbers of trained staff
Resource gaps
Integration with State Shelter Plan
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
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National best practices
Detailed information
Scalable ICS structure
Functional Needs Support Services
Risk Communication
Public health and safety concerns
Animal sheltering (separate plan)
TOOLKIT COMPONENTS
 Concept of Operations – the “Plan”
 Shelter assessments and maps
 MOUs and agreements
 Lists of suggested vendors for supplies
 Policies and procedures
 Standard Operating Guidelines (SOG)
 Job Action Sheets (JAS) based on ICS
 Shelter Forms and Resource Lists
CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS
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Intended for pre-incident planning
Guides the planning process
Identifies possible shelter locations
Encourages pre-planned written agreements
Provides “triggers” for activation
Annex to the Comprehensive Emergency
Management Plan (CEMP)
ICS ORGANIZATION CHART (LARGE SHELTER)
KEEPING EVERYONE ON TRACK
THE INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM
Incident Commander
and Shelter Manager
Takes overall responsibility
Safety Officer
Keeps responders and shelter
clients safe
Liaison Officer
Works with partners
Public Information
Officer
Shares information with the
public and clients
Operations
Runs human or animal shelter
Logistics
Get staff/volunteers, supplies ,
equipment and transportation
Planning
Determines next steps
Finance
Arranges payments; tracks data
SOME SPECIALTY POSITIONS IN SHELTERS
Medical Advisor
A physician to help guide
medical practices
Functional Needs
Advisor
Ensures that the shelter
works for everyone
Ombudsman
Addresses conflicts/issues
Animal Manager
Addresses needs of pets;
service animals
Case Management
Helps clients getting back to
normal with required services
Donations
Management
Collects and organizes
donated goods and services
SHELTER OPERATIONS
Dormitory Unit
Organizes sleeping and
living arrangements
Childcare Unit
Meets needs of children
Registration
Keeps track of everyone
Medical Team
Supports medical needs
Behavioral Health Unit
Addresses client/staff stress
JOB ACTION SHEETS (JAS)
Every major position in the shelter has a JAS
 Who they report to and who reports to them
 Where to get help/resources
 Responsibilities
 Initial planning actions
 Initial response
 Daily operations
 Shelter closing
FORMS
Forms help with accountability
 Listed on the Job Action Sheets for all
positions
 Used to document everything reports,
actions, problems, requests, agreements,
information, complaints, etc.
STANDARD OPERATING GUIDE (SOG)
SOGs are checklists
 The SOG is not prescriptive
 These are tasks to consider
 In an emergency, you don’t have time to
remember everything. Use the SOG!
REGIONAL SHELTER SOG
Sheltering Objective To determine and meet public health and safety
jurisdictional roles and responsibilities and ensure partner agencies are able to
address the public health, medical, behavioral health, safety and sheltering needs
of individuals at a congregate location
Quick Overview
Shelters are like mini villages, often populated by individuals with varying functional needs,
especially cultural, health and animal needs. Shelter Managers skip to Operations for
Shelter Site Assessment/Personnel Safety
Safe Food, Water, Housing
Shelter Volunteers/Logistics
Communications
Medical/Behavioral Health
Case Management
Functional Needs Support Services (FNSS)
Service Animals/Pets
Resource/Donation Management
1.
Initial Response Actions
Begin Within
Initial Assessment of the Event
0 - 3 hours
Contact relevant Response Partners
.25 – 1 hour
Establish Command and Control
.50 – 2 hours
Initiate Risk Communications and Emergency Public Information /Warning
1 – 3 hours
Review Emergency Plans, Policies and Procedures
2 – 4 hours
2. Operations
Confirm Incident Command Roles
Begin Within
1 - ongoing
Complete Shelter Facility Walk-through/Assessment
2 - ongoing
Determine/Request Shelter Logistical Needs and Resources,
3 - ongoing
Complete Shelter Set-up and Open
3 - ongoing
Establish Volunteer Management Systems/Policies
4 - ongoing
Meet Transportation Needs
4- ongoing
Monitor Operations Health, Safety , Functional Needs, Case Management
5 - ongoing
Plan for Next Operational Period and Shelter Closing
6 - ongoing
3 Recovery
Begin Within
Case Management new normal transition - home, temporary housing, long-term care
ongoing
Lift Orders and assist with shelter cleaning and closing
as appropriate
Support recovery and return to normal operations
ongoing
Submit Forms and complete After Action Report and Improvement Plan
30 days
APRIL BLIZZARD SNOWPRIL 2014
Heavy, wet snow has been falling at the rate
of 2 inches per hour for more than 12 hours. The
wind is fierce and power lines are down
everywhere. Travel is difficult. People are cold
and hungry. The elderly are desperate for help.
You get a call to open a shelter. What do you do?
WHAT ARE YOUR FIRST STEPS?
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Stay calm, you have a plan…
Make sure your family is OK…
Get your personal “Go Kit” ready….
Review your plans and the shelter SOG…
SOG INITIAL RESPONSE ACTIONS
Look at the First Page of your Shelter SOG
1. Assess the Situation – what is happening?
2. Contact Partners – call everyone, including
your EMD and/or COAD partners
3. Command and Control. Who is doing what?
Think about ICS.
4. Public Information should begin
5. Read your plans!
WHAT IS YOUR ROLE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?
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EMD?
COAD?
MRC/DART/CERT?
Public Health?
Hospitals/EMS?
First Responders?
ARE YOU IN CHARGE OF THE SHELTER?
Name 6 things you should be doing or considering?
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HERE ARE MY 6 THINGS
1. Where is my shelter? Has it been assessed?
2. What are the Shelter Polices? (look in the plan
and adjust based on the current situation)
3. Do I have the right/enough stuff/volunteers?
COAD/MRC/CERT/ARC
4. Can the shelter serve everyone? FNSS?
5. How am I handling spontaneous volunteers?
6. How is everyone getting to the shelter?
ARE YOU SUPPORTING THE SHELTER?
Name 6 things you should be doing or considering?
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2.
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MY COAD CHECKLIST
1. Is my organization prepared to help?
2. Am I prepared to help?
How Can We Help?
 serve our clientele so they can stay home
 provide resources (people, equipment,
supplies)?
 Can I donate them? Do I need to be paid?
…MORE COAD “TO DOS”
1. Am I in contact with my COAD and/or
EMD?
2. Am I tracking all my resources, including
time & materials?
3. Other?
4. How can I stay informed!
WHAT NOT TO DO?
1. Don’t self-deploy
2. Don’t talk to the media on behalf of
someone else – unless authorized by the
IC or your organization
3. Don’t wait to be asked or make contact. If
you have something to offer, contact your
COAD or the EMD
4. Don’t wait to ask for help!
SHELTER OPERATIONS IS JUST 1, 2, 3…
1. Follow the Shelter SOG checklist. Adjust
as needed.
2. Use the Job Action Sheets for each
position on the ICS Chart. Modify as
needed.
3. Use the Forms mentioned in the JAS to
document everything.
3 MORE STEPS FOR OPERATING SHELTERS
1. Consider Functional Needs Support Services
(FNSS)
2. Maintain communications
3. Take care of yourself first!
EXERCISE YOUR PLAN AND SKILLS
Everything is easier if you have practiced
 Participate shelter exercises– UMass Apr 10/11
 Exercise your own plan
 Take the WRHSAC on-line shelter training- May
 Attend a Red Cross shelter training
 Become an MRC/COAD/ARC/CERT volunteer
 Become an Emergency Rest Center (ERC)
QUESTIONS TODAY?
1. What do you want to ask your partners?
2. COADS, what are your questions for
EMDs?
3. EMDs, what are your questions for
COADs?
PROJECT STATUS
Complete
 Shelter template
 Shelter assessments, maps in Hampshire
 Regional shelter supplies - WRHSAC
Ongoing
 Regional Concept of Operations
planning
 List of suggested vendors with MOUs
SHELTER PLANNING NEXT STEPS
 Explore inter-municipal agreement (IMA)
 Develop funding mechanisms
 Establish and train Shelter Staffing Teams
 Complete regional plans
 Continue to integrate COAD/MRC/ARC/CERT
into local and regional plans
 Use After Action Reports to improve plans
ONLINE INTERACTIVE SHELTER TRAINING
Goals of Project
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Companion Training to the
Regional Shelter Planning
toolkit
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Build shelter operations
awareness/proficiency for
shelter personnel
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Establish strong building block
for future steps of project, ie
exercises
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Online modules provide
sustainability of training
EXAMPLE TRAINING MODULE
STAFF / VOLUNTEER CERTIFICATION
Online training offers
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Flexibility
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Certification
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Just in Time Training
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Can be used in drills
and exercises
Anticipated Launch
Date:
End of May – early June
2014
COMING IMPROVEMENTS
WRHSAC Projects
 COADs and Faith Community
 Integration with State Shelter/Evacuation Plans
 Medical protocols
 Evacuation Service Centers
 Emergency Rest Centers
 Regional MACC/REOC
WHAT SHOULD I BE DOING NOW?
1. Have your own family/personal emergency plan
2. Make sure your organization has an emergency
plan
3. Educate your constituents and clients
4. Make sure your town has a shelter plan.
 Modify the template to meet your needs
 Add local information.
RESOURCES AND MORE INFORMATION
See WRHSAC and other website for Western
Mass and State shelter & Volunteer Management
Plans
 www.wrhsac.org
 wrhsac.org/projects-and-initiatives/shelterevacuation/
 www.wmmrc.org
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 Financial Support from WRHSAC
 Members of the HREPC Planning Committee
 Staff Support from Planning Commissions and
Public Health Coalitions
 Subject Matter Support
 MEMA-EMDs/DPH-Local Public Health
 Medical Reserve Corps/HEART/DART
 American Red Cross
 Schools