Public Computer Banks
Shift Leader information
Contents:
- Role of Shift Leader
- Assisting At Public Computers Fact Sheet
(distribute and review with volunteers)
- Training Shelter Residents to Help Others Fact Sheet
(distribute and review with volunteers)
COMPUTER VOLUNTEERS
Shift Leader Responsibilities
1. Familiarize yourself with activities on the computers (finding relatives, registering
evacuees, recommended websites)
2. Explain to volunteers the purpose of the Public Computer Banks
a. To register evacuees
b. To find loved ones
c. To find information online
i. Resources (FEMA, schools, employment)
ii. Local activities (church services, museums, outreach)
3. Ensure computers are used for purposes
4. Coordinate volunteer group to efficiently help shelter residents in finding
information
5. Be “point of contact” for volunteers working at the public computer banks
COMPUTER VOLUNTEERS
Assisting People at Public Computers
Please ask evacuee if he or she has registered on the Red Cross site – to tell family
members and friends where they are. Let them know they can also look for people
when they register.
NOTE: this IS NOT the same as registering when they first arrived at the shelter.
This is a SEPARATE website. Work is being done to combine the intake
registrations of all the shelters (when evacuees first arrive at shelters) and post on
the web. As of Monday night, this process is not complete. There may be some
confusion about this, since not everyone was given the same information at check
in. When checking for loved ones, check both the family registry website
listed below and http://www.katrinasafe.com
If they have any doubt about whether or not they and their family is registered with
the Red Cross Family Registry, they can visit the Red Cross site (listed below) and
search for their own name. If it’s not there, they aren’t registered and should do so.
Steps to register evacuee with the Red Cross Family Registry:
1. Email account.
a. If person has an email account accessible on the web, skip to step 2.
If person DOES NOT have an email account, go to yahoo.com or hotmail.com
and get an email account.
In the registry, there is a field for email contact. By having an email account,
the person can go back and check to see if he or she has been contacted by
loved ones or the Red Cross. Make sure they understand that if they’ve
requested Red Cross assistance, they should check their email to see if they’ve
been contacted.
2. Visit http://www.familylinks.icrc.org/katrina .
Evacuees can:
a. Search for loved ones by entering last names, or portions of names
NOTE: Sometimes there are misspellings in the database, so try multiple
or partial spellings.
b. Register themselves to inform loved ones where they are.
Use the email account evacuee already has or just created.
Indicate Austin Convention Center as present location
Once people have registered with the Red Cross, they are free to use the public
computers as they will. Please assist them as is necessary/requested.
More information available online
A list of helpful links is listed above the computer banks. We are also working on getting
these links on every desktop, so they are easier to access. Please look over the list and
make sure you can easily advise people which site will best meet their immediate needs.
Let people know there is a large list of useful clickable links to FEMA, applications for
emergency food stamps and other assistance, assistance from Dept of Labor, plus local
housing and employment resources at http://www.austinhelpskatrina.org .
Also, the City of Austin has a frequently updated page of resources for evacuees, located
at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/help/get_help.htm
COMPUTER VOLUNTEERS
Training Shelter Residents to Help Others
Purpose: To find shelter residents who are comfortable and knowledgeable enough about
basic internet use to assist others around them who may lack these skills, particularly for
searching for information on loved ones, registering themselves, etc.
Plan:
Going bed to bed, we will ask people if they’d like to volunteer to help others use the free
public computers to:
a) Register with the Red Cross Family Registry
b) Access services and information they want and need, including searching for
missing friends and relatives.
Process:
1. Approach shelter residents, going area to area, “Is there anyone here who is very
comfortable surfing the net and who would like to help others here who may not
know how?”
2. When someone self-identifies as willing and knowledgeable, give them the
“Assisting People at Public Computers” fact sheet. Explain to them that everyone
needs to register with the Red Cross and that registering at the shelter alone does
not accomplish that. We are particularly concerned that people who don’t already
know how to use a computer may not understand this and may believe this has
happened automatically after they arrived.
3. Ask them if they will commit to work with people around them, particularly the
elderly or infirm, by going with them to the public computers and walking them
through the Red Cross registration process.