Nobody wants to be caught off guard during a natural disaster. ADVERTISING Nobody wants to be caught off guard during a natural disaster. The University of Hawaii at Hilo’s College of Continuing Education and Community Service is partnering with the
Nobody wants to be caught off guard during a natural disaster.
The University of Hawaii at Hilo’s College of Continuing Education and Community Service is partnering with the Honolulu-based Natural Disaster Preparedness and Training Center in an effort to reach out to people who work with senior citizens, who comprise one of the most vulnerable groups during disasters.
Two classes for caregivers, one in Hilo and one in Kona, are scheduled next week. The classes are offered free of charge and taught by instructors certified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“We want to provide the most amount of access possible,” CCECS director Farrah Gomes said. “It is community service at its core, at its best.”
Ray Tsuchiyama, deputy director of the NDPTC, said that prior to 2005, most FEMA training classes focused on “man-made emergencies,” such as handling bomb threats. Natural disasters took a backseat.
Hurricane Katrina was a wake-up call, Tsuchiyama said. Not only did the event push FEMA to better prepare its own responders, it also made clear that strong disaster preparation and relief efforts came when the entire community was equipped with the right tools.
“Getting together and starting to plan together,” Tsuchiyama said. “That’s how it all came about. … A lot of our training arose from this philosophy or assumption about ‘How do we get the whole community trained?’”
“What we hope to do is … when these people come in a locality like Hilo or Kona, they start meeting again and again in the future by themselves, and start involving themselves,” he said.
The NDPTC is part of a nationwide National Domestic Preparedness Consortium. It is the only center that focuses exclusively on natural hazards.
Throughout the past five months, several training classes have been hosted on each of the Neighbor Islands.
Because of its volcanic activity, Hawaii Island has more natural hazard threats than the other islands in the archipelago, Tsuchiyama said. For that reason, local knowledge becomes more important.
Gomes described the process as developing community capital.
“In true times of need, it’s your friends or your neighbors that you’re going to call,” she said.
In decided which courses to offer first, she crowdsourced via her Facebook page, and found the caregivers class drew the most interest. Gomes reached out to hospitals, medical facilities and hospices. She’s now trying to reach the “lesser-known” caregivers.
“A lot of people are taking care of their parents in their own homes now,” she said. “We don’t know who might possibly be taking care of a loved one.”
Focus on caregivers also stems from Katrina lessons.
“There were far more, proportionally, people injured or who passed away who were older,” Tsuchiyama said.
Gomes said that Tropical Storm Iselle, when many people found themselves trapped in Puna, was a reminder of the importance of having emergency plans in place.
The training class also is valuable for caregivers of disabled people, she said: “Caregiving techniques, best practices are universal.”
Email Ivy Ashe at iashe@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
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Natural Disaster Awareness for Caregivers of Senior Citizens will be held at the West Hawaii Civic Center, Building G, in Kona on December 7. The course will be offered at the Aupuni Center in Hilo on December 8. Both classes begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 12:30 p.m.
Register online at https://ndptc.hawaii.edu/training/delivery/1351 for Kona and https://ndptc.hawaii.edu/training/delivery/1350 for Hilo. For more information, call CCECS at 974-7664.
