With the recent devastation in Haiti that has been felt around the globe more people than ever are asking “What Can I Do?” to help.
While groups like UMCOR and Red Cross are phenomenal outlets to provide assistance on an international level, the United Methodist Church has its own answer for local, state and national disasters, called Early Response Teams (ERT).
ERTs fill a specific need in the early days after a disaster to establish the presence of the church, and the West Michigan Conference currently has 37 trained ERT members.
A disaster is considered by the church as any specific event that results in overwhelming physical, economic and/or emotional damage to a community.
Early Response Teams are flexible so that they can respond to any disaster that may occur.
In the near future dates, places and times will be released for the latest session of ERT training around the state as congregations and church groups request them.
Jeremy Wicks is a certified ERT trainer for the West Michigan Conference and he said it is the conference’s goal to have 150 volunteers trained by 2011 and he is willing to go anywhere in the conference to host training sessions.
“Once a church contacts me about doing training I will send them bulletin inserts and advertising materials free of charge and we will get something set up,” he said. “It is of no cost to the church other than a fee for the materials that are part of the training process and the ‘West Michigan Early Response Team’ shirts that every participant will get.”
The only requirements to join an ERT are that a volunteer must be at least 18 years old, in good physical health and pass a background test.
Wicks said the biggest problem in reaching the 150-person goal is simply getting the word out there to churches in a time where congregations and members are flooded and overwhelmed with messages and promotional material.
Wicks is the first to admit it took a tornado in the town he calls home to alert him to the ministry.
In 2007 Williamston was leveled by a severe tornado that killed three people and left parts of the area devastated.
Williamston United Methodist Church’s downtown building was out of commission for a while, with plenty of damage to assess, and Wicks said it was a group of locals from the church who helped make a difference throughout the entire community for 4-6 weeks after the tragedy.
“Our church was totally caught unprepared, and if not for our pastor who was already heavily involved in the community we may not have known where to turn,” Wicks said. “But without formal training we were able to manage and we came together and made a difference. That’s why it is now my passion to let people know that within the United Methodist Church there are the means to respond to disasters and all it takes is a little bit of training and planning.”
Volunteers are asked only to complete a 6-8 hour training course and if a response is requested for a disaster, those logistics are taken care by people like Wicks, or Don Tippin, the West Michigan Conference Disaster Response Coordinator.
There are a bevy of different positions on ERTs, for every type of person — from the heavy lifter to well-organized logistics leader to the do-it-all cook.
Wicks said it is not only about cleanup duty and repairing damage, it is also about listening to people to help them heal and to share the love of Christ in a very tangible way.
And while it might not be quite as glamorous of a challenge as something people see on “Man Versus Wild” in their living room, there are plenty of basic survival skills that need to be taken into account.
“Each team must be self-sufficient and self-sustaining. As a team is making preparations, they need to keep in mind the need for basic necessities, such as food, fuel, water and sleeping gear, as well as debris removal equipment,” according to the ERT mission statement.
For further information or to register for training Wicks can be reached at (517) 980-6855 or jeremy_wicks@yahoo.com.
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