What Is a COAD?

A COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster) is a collaborative network of organizations, churches, agencies, individuals, businesses and others based within a community or geographic area (in this case Hancock County, Indiana) representing public, private and not-for-profit agencies, which work toward the mission of helping minimize the effects of a disaster.

A COAD will enhance the community’s ability to mitigate, prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters, thus ensuring that human needs are met to provide a safe, sanitary and secure community.

We strive to improve communication, cooperation, collaboration and coordination among those concerned about disasters in Hancock County. Preparation is vital to an effective response.  It is not IF but WHEN.

Stay tuned for specifics about how you can help.

Hancock County COAD Team

Be Prepared

That is far more than the Boy Scout motto.Those are our marching orders as a COAD. In fact that is our sole purpose until a disaster strikes Hancock County.  Training and exercises are where we learn, by testing, how good the plans are that we have made..

We are going to hold a series of workshops to take a brief walk through of various circumstances and how our plans say that we would respond.  All of these will be at the EOC at 640 South Franklin Rd, Greenfield. All will start at 3:30 PM. The plan is to finish in 45 minutes, no longer than an hour.  We will focus on one area with each workshop but how the pieces fit together with other COAD functions and the greater EMA function will necessarily be a part of what we look at.

Here are the dates and subjects (first is firm, others are tentative):
March 5 – Shelter with Transportation and Pet Care
March 24 – Command & Control with Communications (Setting up our Command Center and staffing EOC)
April 16 – Food & Hydration with Warehousing
May 5 – Volunteer Reception Center with Long Term Recovery Group

We know we have barely begun thinking about some of these areas and there are minor and major tweaks required in others. The purpose of the workshops is to clarify and prioritize our work areas.

Respond to email or call me at 317-372-2304 with questions or RSVP.

Hancock County COAD Team
www.HancockCOAD.org

We know hundreds of volunteers will show up when a disaster strikes Hancock County. That is one of the great things about where we live – people help one another.

How quickly and efficiently those neighbors will be made available on task will depend upon training done in advance of the disaster.  Knowing what to expect in a disaster setting and having the proper tools is key to keeping the volunteers safe and appropriately serving the victims.

We have several sessions scheduled. All will be held at Calvary Baptist Church, 1450 West Main, Greenfield, IN
Cost is $20 for the manual, lunch and snacks. Scholarships are available if that would keep you from coming. You can register by responding to this email or completing the Contact Us form on the web site.

March 21 – Preparing Your Congregation for Disaster – $20

March 28 – Shelter Volunteer Training – $20

April 18 – Introduction to Disaster Services (Basic Training) – $20