Minnesota VOAD currently has the following opportunities:
These committees are not tied to a particular disaster, but instead focus on their subject matter throughout the year to create guidance documents, best practices, and other resources for the VOAD membership and the general public. You can find some of those resources here.
Regional Liaison Teams now cover the entire state of Minnesota. Following the HSEM (Homeland Security and Emergency Management) Regional Program MNVOAD now s a counterpart to each of their coordinators. Our Regional Liaisons will be working closely with city and county emergency managers along with the HSEM Regional Program Coordinators. One of their duties will be to acquire ‘ground truth’ on disaster assistance requests. To do that they will be utilizing our MnVOAD Liaison Tool.
The Planning Team has met several times and is currently working on our Concept of Operations. This will help guide us to plan for and respond to disaster quicker and more effectively. We began with a two-fold approach focusing on 1) slowly developing or anticipated disasters (flooding, etc.) and 2) quick response to fast emerging disasters (tornado, high-winds). The COVID-19 pandemic has created a new model that we are addressing along with the State of Minnesota and focusing on at this time.
Emotional and Spiritual Care Committee is now being created with several of our member organizations signing on to assist us in growing and serving.
Disaster Education Committee is beginning to take form. We are excited to see this as an opportunity for growth and outreach. There are exciting discussions taking place and we are looking for more of our partners and members to join us.
The MNVOAD Long-Term Recovery Committee aims to identify best practices, resources, and relationships to inform disaster long-term recovery work in Minnesota. Committee membership includes representatives from several volunteer and government agencies as well as individuals invested in strengthening the capacity of our communities to rebuild effectively after disaster strikes. In addition to reviving the MNVOAD LTR Guidebook, this committee is working to build connections and bring training across the state to enhance Minnesota’s readiness for future disasters.
MNVOAD is committed to offering help to our communities by offering assistance in the creation of these Community Organizations Active in Disasters. While each community is unique, all disasters start and end locally. By educating and offering assistance, we hope to better help the local communities prepare and respond to disasters through cooperation between the area stakeholders.
The MNVOAD Policy and Procedures Committee is responsible to ensure that MNVOAD fulfills its purpose by adherence to its stated by-laws through the adoption and applications of appropriate policies and procedures.
The Committee accomplishes this by documenting and maintaining the rules, principles, guidelines or frameworks that are adopted or designed by MNVOAD to achieve long term goals and deliver services to the people of Minnesota.