[Community-service] emergency and disaster volunteers

Fri Sep 20 12:20:53 UTC 2013

Dear All, 
I have been reading the thread and have a few things to say. 
In 2007 Atlanta convention there was a CPR training for which we had to
register and pay $30 for the certificate. 
I did the training and got the certificate. Also there is a small
device, which (I believe CPR prompter) which directs you on how to do a
CPR. 

I work for the county and there was an opportunity from the Rd Cross for
county staff to learn about their community service and to be emergency
shelter staff and volunteers. I did this training to understand we could
help ourselves. 
They provided me with their handbook both as an email attachment and on
CD. 
There is nothing that can stop us from learning and participating in
such activities. Red Cross knows that when a disaster hits it impacts
everyone regardless. They should not prevent us from training in such
topics. 
I would suggest that more of us should participate in emergency
preparedness committees and become active in our community. 
I hope that someone does the CPR training at the national convention
again. I would love to take it again. 
Maybe the community service division should inquire this matter. 

Yasmin Reyazuddin 
Aging & Disability Services 
Montgomery County Government 
Department of Health & Human Services 
401 Hungerford Drive (3rd floor) 
Rockville MD 20850 
240-777-0311 (MC311) 
240-777-1556 (personal) 
240-777-1495 (fax) 
office hours 8:30 am 5:00 pm 
Languages English, Hindi, Urdu, Braille 

This message may contain protected health information or other
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Thank you.

-----Original Message-----
From: Community-service [mailto:community-service-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Darian Smith
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2013 6:01 PM
To: Everett Gavel; Community Service Discussion List
Subject: Re: [Community-service] emergency and disaster volunteers

Everett and all,
  if it was something you were really interested in, do you think  you
would   have pressed the issue more?

On Sep 19, 2013, at 2:50 PM, "Everett Gavel" <everett at everettgavel.com>
wrote:

> Hi Darian, and all,
> 
> In this instance at least, I meant it as I did not speak up for myself
and talk through the specific points of how I certainly could do some of
the jobs/tasks necessary at that office. I did not take the time or make
the effort to educate a few more people as I could have in that
instance, whether I got the volunteer opp or not. That's what I was
talking about. It ended up being a missed opportunity because I simply
moved on and did not advocate better for myself.
> 
> Strive On!
> Everett
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darian Smith"
<dsmithnfb at gmail.com>
> To: "Everett Gavel" <everett at everettgavel.com>; "Community Service
Discussion List" <community-service at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2013 3:31 PM
> Subject: Re: [Community-service] emergency and disaster volunteers
> 
> 
> Hi all,
> the term "advocating for myself" came up  a couple of times  here on
this thread.
> I would agree that this is important  thing to know how to do.
> My eustion is, just what do people on this  list think  it means?   If
you find yourself using  it, what are you hoping  to get across to other
people who want to help out at the red cross or food pantry or something
like that?
> 
> Thanks, Darian.
> 
> On Sep 19, 2013, at 12:05 PM, Everett Gavel <everett at everettgavel.com>
wrote:
> 
>> Hi Denise, and all,
>> 
>> I love the fact that they won't let us do certain things, when we can
at times do them better than someone else whose only supposedly 'better'
qualification is sight. Sighted world or not, some people are still not
better, just because they can see. It is convenient, though, I'll give
that.
>> 
>> I'm part of the Emergency & Disaster Planning group here at our local
Independence Center. Apparently, right now, our IC is the only IC in
Colorado that has specifically hired someone to work with the city &
governments regionally, regarding evacuations of the disabled and such
things that go along with the field. This all came about due to some
issues with evacuations last year during the Waldo Canyon Fire. So our
guy has contacts with our region's newest FEMA reps and all that fun
stuff. Because this region's rep recently got hired to be the head over
the nation's FEMA people who work with disability orgs and the like. So
it's fun right now. We might actually be able to make significant steps
forward with the eyebrows that got raised after last year's disaster.
>> 
>> In regards to the Red Cross, several years ago I went down to the
local Red Cross office after talking a couple of times on the phone. The
phone calls went very well and I explained how I would be happy to do
phone work, computer work, and even help with the newsletter. When I got
there in-person, I believe my blindness changed things, though I can't
prove it. The woman in charge talked a bit, took my contact info, marked
down the areas I was interested in and willing to help with, and we
parted ways. Though I called her once after that, I've never heard back
from her at all. She put me off on someone else in charge of the
newsletter supposedly, but I never heard back from either, and the big
problem with all this is that I did not push it. I let it fall by the
curbside, and that was my mistake. So in truth it's more on me than on
them, as I did not advocate well for myself, nor push the issue, when it
comes right down to it.
>> 
>> Denise, please tell Adam I said hello -- and I hope you both are
enjoying life these days. ;-)
>> 
>> 
>> Strive On!
>> Everett
>> 
>> 
>> ----- original message ----- Well, on the first aid with the Red
Cross, they didn?t believe I could do it but, my friend Lisa and I just
advocated for ourselves and it worked. There were, however, as you said
in your recent post, those jobs for which I trained what Red Cross never
let me do, even though, I knew I could do them, such as working in a
hurricane shelter. So, sometimes it?s good and sometimes it?s bad for
blind folks.
>> 
>> 
>> 
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> 
> 
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