Disaster/Emergency Sheltering Course Announcement

MEMA Mass Care Cooling and Warming Center

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Disaster/Emergency Sheltering Course Announcement

MEMA Mass Care will offer a 2.0 Hour Cooling and Warming Centers and Disaster/Emergency Sheltering Course for Local, County and Tribal Emergency Management, Municipal Agencies, and Community Organizations.  The course has been created to provide staff and volunteers with information on best practices for preparing, setting up, and managing Cooling and Warming Centers and Disaster/Emergency Congregate Shelters.  The course will consist of a segment dedicated to best practices on Cooling and Warming Center Operations.  The session will include basic concepts of Congregate Sheltering in a Non-COVID-19 environment to assist in building local capacity for Disaster/Emergency Sheltering in natural or human-caused disasters.  Course topics will include:

• Lessons Learned from 2020-2024
• Definitions
• Opening Triggers and Disaster/Emergency Shelter Planning Assumptions
• Facility Accessibility, Health, Security, and Safety Considerations
• Center and Disaster/Emergency Shelter Capacity Considerations
• Potential Community Partners and Support Resources
• Pet Sheltering and Nursing Mother Considerations
• Feeding Planning Considerations
• Documentation Considerations.
• Set-up and Equipment Considerations.

Those who register for the course will receive an email confirmation with a Microsoft TEAM’S invitation no less than 48 hours prior to the course session, Course Participants will be emailed a Certification of Attendance following the delivery of all sessions.

The course will be offered on several dates and times to accommodate the availability of participants at no cost.  In-person or virtual courses are available when requested. For further questions, please get in touch with Bill Guindon, MEMA Mass Care Coordinator, at 207-458-2867 or william.guindon@maine.gov