Red Cross will host shelter class

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
The last time Weston County needed an emergency shelter was during the Oil Creek fire, according to Gilbert Nelson. However, the Weston County Homeland Security coordinator said that doesn’t mean the community shouldn’t be ready in case the unthinkable happens. 
To help prepare the community for an emergency, the American Red Cross of Wyoming, with the help of homeland security, will host a Red Cross shelter fundamentals class in Newcastle on March 12. 
“When disaster strikes, the Red Cross is there to help! To complete our mission, the Red Cross needs local volunteers to be ready to assist their communities. This class will prepare participants to assist in the resourcing, opening, operating and closing of a Red Cross shelter,” according to the information provided by homeland security. “These skills can be used locally when emergencies happen, as well as in Red Cross shelters across the nation.” 
Nelson said that the class will help teach residents how to get a shelter up and running before Red Cross can arrive to assist. Attendees will learn about the situations in which a Red Cross shelter will open, how they choose locations, mass care, how to meet the needs of a disaster affected individual and much more. 
“There are … rules and guidelines for opening and operating a shelter,” Nelson said. “This class will help explain those things.” 
The class, Nelson said, is open to anyone in the community who wants to give back and volunteer. Nelson said that he would like to see elected officials, church groups, health officials, teachers, school administrators, public health and hospital employees attend the class. There is no need to RSVP for the class, he said. 
“We have to be prepared, and it is my job to make sure we have these things (shelters) in place and ready for the county,” Nelson said. “If we don’t, that’s on me.” 
The class is a good opportunity for people who have not volunteered in the past but want to. 
“I always hear people say they want to volunteer, and here is a great opportunity. You can come learn the aspects of the shelters, and it could open some doors. The Red Cross is coming to teach this, and I’m the only Red Cross volunteer in here,” Nelson said. 
Nelson stressed the importance of having people ready in the community if the need arises. 
“If we don’t have the people trained to open a shelter properly, then we don’t have one and there is no place for people to go,” Nelson said. “We have to be resilient and creative, and I want to have every opportunity and tool available so it is there if we need it. Hopefully, we never do.”
Volunteers will be needed in any emergency shelter situation, he said. 
The Red Cross shelter fundamentals class will be held March 12 at the Newcastle Lodge and Convention Center from 1 to 3 p.m. Anyone with questions should contact Libby Cave, Red Cross DPM at Elizabeth.cave@redcross.org or at (307) 274-7758 or Gilbert Nelson at wchls@rtconnect.net or 746-4315.