Training for Shelter Managers in Kingston
Posted On: Jul 25, 2019The Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) is to provide training for shelter managers in first aid and shelter management practices.
“We will be pulling together all shelter managers that we have, to brief them on what is expected of the [hurricane] season. We are also looking to do first-aid training with about 30 of them, and we will be training all of them in phases, starting this month,” Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Disaster Coordinator, Terry Forrester, said in an interview with JIS News.
Additionally, approximately 110 shelter managers will gather at the Alpha Institute, Kingston, for the KSAMC’s Shelter Management Conference on July 31.
The shelter managers will be engaged in learning and sharing information on what their roles are, how to carry out their specified functions and ways to improve shelter management.
“We’ve also done our shelter inspections, and our shelter list is completed and will be published on our website,” Ms. Forrester noted.
The complete list of shelters in Kingston and St. Andrew may also be accessed by contacting the KSAMC, the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development and the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM).
Ms. Forrester said the KSAMC Disaster Unit is open to working with volunteers and encourages persons to register through the National Disaster Risk Management Volunteer Programme (NDRMVP) at the ODPEM or contact the Unit directly.
“As volunteers, you can do damage assessment, work as counsellors in the shelters and just volunteering your skills. We are also doing sensitisation with community groups, business places, and schools. Once you invite us, we will make ourselves available for that, and that is something we’ve always been doing,” the Disaster Coordinator said.
Interested persons may contact the KSAMC at 24 Church Street, Kingston, or call 876-922-2587.