By SARAH THOMACK
St. Joseph Post

An introduction to what it’s like to be a part of a Red Cross Disaster Action Team will be held next week.

Ralph Dishong is the Disaster Program Specialist with the American Red Cross of Missouri and Arkansas.

Dishong said the Red Cross needs volunteers in St. Joseph for the Disaster Action Team, which is the team that most commonly responds to home fires.

“Once we get notified of a house fire, our Disaster Action Team provides 24-hour emergency response to our local disasters and they provide the basic needs for those people who’ve had that fire. For example, somebody’s house is on fire, our volunteers go meet those people… and make sure they have the basic essentials of food, shelter and clothing,” Dishong said. “Also, it’s very important for those people that have had that tragedy happen to know that somebody cares… we’re here to help people get by those initial day or two and… start the road to recovery.”

Dishong said an upcoming free training course is a refresher for some and an introduction for others who may be interested in volunteering for the Disaster Action Team.

“We’ll explain exactly what this Disaster Action Team is, what it does, how the shifts work and we will show them how to do it, so that will give them the information they need to make that decision if this is something that they want to do,” Dishong said.

The training takes place from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14, at the Red Cross in St. Joseph at 401 N 12th Street.

Dishong said if anyone decides after the training to be a volunteer, they will fill out a Red Cross volunteer application and complete more training.

To register for the training by noon on Monday, contact Ralph Dishong at (816) 385-5952 or [email protected].