Shelter Managers Take Part In Refresher Course
By: , July 7, 2021
Photo: Okoye Henry
Parish Coordinator for Disaster Preparedness at the St. Elizabeth Municipal Corporation, Ornella Lewis, gives a presentation during a shelter management refresher course at the St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth, on Tuesday, July 6.
Photo: Okoye Henry
Shelter managers participate in a refresher course at the St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth, on Tuesday, July 6.The Full Story
Shelter managers in the town of Santa Cruz, St. Elizabeth, took part in a refresher course at the St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, on Tuesday, July 6.
This was the second in a series of sensitisation activities planned for the parish for the month of July, as the country prepares for the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season that runs from June 1 to November 30.
Parish Coordinator for Disaster Preparedness at the St. Elizabeth Municipal Corporation, Ornella Lewis, told JIS News that the parish currently has 86 shelters that are in a state of “readiness” for any potential hurricane impact.
“We want to ensure that although the managers are trained in shelter management, there are things we have to brush up on, and we also have to remain alert and collective in order to deal with emergencies,” Ms. Lewis explained.
“We also want to encourage them how to deal with shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic,” she added.
The day’s exercise was carried out in partnership with the St. Elizabeth arm of the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB), which also taught shelter managers how to administer emergency first aid, how to use fire extinguishers and perform other integral roles.
In the meantime, Ms. Lewis noted that there are a number of other hurricane-preparedness activities taking place across the parish.
“There are drain-cleaning activities and also a partnership with the National Works Agency (NWA), as they would have been doing some extensive cleaning as well,” she outlined.
“From our management standpoint, we ensure that our parish operation centre team is informed. Just last week Tuesday (June 29), we had a refresher course, guided by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), to ensure we are alert and able to deal with parish emergencies,” she added.
Shelter Manager, Fitzdale Roye, said that shelter management meetings are critical, particularly with the ongoing pandemic.
He emphasised that shelter managers must be aware of certain guidelines as to what to do in terms of setting up sanitisation and isolation areas for persons in the event of an emergency.