Volunteer in Emergencies
ADRA’s Disaster and Emergency Response Program
ADRA Canada has much experience in providing relief after disasters around the world. This experience combined with the hiring of Canadian experts in the field has led to the creation of the National Disaster and Emergency Response program. ADRA Canada, being an affiliate of the Seventh-day Adventist church, recognizes the blessing of having a default volunteer base in the church members. ADRA Canada welcomes the church and the community at large to equally participate in this robust program to equip individuals across the country to be ready to act when an incident happens in their community or their province.
The program is designed to train community volunteers.
About the Program
We were active in 1996 during the Saguenay floods and we were there to help again during the Fort McMurray fire in 2016, with many more responses in between.
ADRA Canada has taken on the challenge to prepare Canadians to respond to emergencies and disasters in their community, in their province, and nationally. The National Emergencies division of ADRA Canada created the Disaster and Emergency Response (DER) program to train and equip volunteers, team leaders, area DER coordinators, and conference DER coordinators across the country.
In collaboration with provincial and local governments, as well as partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in disaster response, the DER program will come to the help of Canadian survivors affected by emergencies by offering various services such as donation management, emotional and spiritual counselling, and shelter.
There are different ways you can help in making this program a reality:
- Learn how to prepare yourself for emergencies
- Register as a volunteer in your area to respond to major emergencies within your conference
- Become a team leader or area DER Coordinator to assist in the national response to disasters
- Learn how to prepare your church for emergencies
- Prepare your church to support the local community in minor emergencies
- Donate to ADRA Canada for Canadian Projects
Sign Up to be a DER Volunteer
Here are the four levels of training as part of the DER program:
Register with your area or conference DER coordinator to receive training on the national DER program. Stay informed about training events held in your area or your conference. Assist in the planning and implementation of training events. Attend training and become ready to serve as a DER Volunteer in response to local and area emergencies or be deployed elsewhere in the country in case of a disaster.
Basic training for all volunteers will equip you to help your church in response to local and area disasters and emergencies. Most volunteers trained to this level will serve within a short distance from their home.
Advanced training for Team Leaders and Coordinators will prepare you to take on a leadership role in the local area and national disasters and emergencies. With this training, you could be deployed outside of your direct area to anywhere within Canada where a severe emergency has occurred. You must successfully complete the basic training to be eligible for this course.
Train-the-trainer for DER Coordinators will prepare you to offer training to volunteers at the basic or advanced levels within your conference. This course is reserved for DER Coordinators on an invitation basis only.
Crisis Care training for Pastors and Elders will equip participants to provide emotional and spiritual support to people experiencing trauma from being involved in an emergency as a survivor or as a volunteer. This course is reserved for Pastors and Elders by invitation only.