VOAD
Volunteers fill and place sandbags on 1700 South in Salt Lake City the night of April 12, 2023, after an overflowing Emigration Creek was diverted down the neighborhood street. Photo by Lisa Bagley, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.
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By Mary Richards, Church News
When spring runoff caused Emigration Creek in Salt Lake City to overflow the night of April 12, city managers looked to divert the water down the middle of a neighborhood street — and they needed lots of help.
Lisa Bagley, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the president of Utah State VOAD — Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster — answered a phone call from city officials.
She happened to be at a barbecue kicking off the Mountain West VOAD conference and was surrounded by partner organizations in disaster response. She was also near a manager in the Church’s Welfare and Self-Reliance Services Department. Phone calls went out to local stake presidents and local organizations asking for volunteers.
Soon, an army of people was sandbagging along 1700 South to protect homes and property.
VOAD
Volunteers fill and place sandbags on 1700 South in Salt Lake City the night of April 12, 2023, after an overflowing Emigration Creek was diverted down the neighborhood street. Photo by Lisa Bagley, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.“It was divine design we were all there at the right place at the right time,” Bagley said. “The Church is good at that — spontaneous, we need volunteers right now. And as a partner at the VOAD table, that’s fantastic.”
About VOAD
Bagley began working with Utah State VOAD eight years ago as a Church assignment and has served as the organization’s president since July 2021.
On the national, regional and state level, VOAD is a coalition of faith-based, nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations that may respond in any phase of a disaster — prepare, respond, recover, mitigate.
Rather than all work separately, VOAD organizations work together by focusing on communication, coordination, cooperation and collaboration.
VOAD
Lisa Bagley, second from right, and other participants during the Mountain West VOAD conference in Salt Lake City on April 14, 2023. Photo courtesy of Lisa Bagley, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Bagley said the Church is a perfect part of this effort. As President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, said in his talk, "Helping the Poor and Distressed," in October 2022 general conference, “The Church of Jesus Christ is committed to serving those in need, and it is also committed to cooperating with others in that effort.”
From April 12-15, Salt Lake City hosted the annual Mountain West VOAD conference, where organizations from 13 states around the western part of the United States came together. These states have challenges in common and often respond to each other’s needs after events like wildfires, floods and earthquakes.
Speakers came from New Mexico, Alaska, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota — even the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, which joined the conference to learn more about emergency response and disaster relief and share lessons from hurricanes that have hit the island.
“All these lessons learned from states and experiences, why wouldn’t we learn from those and gain knowledge,” Bagley said.
VOAD
Participants with the Mountain West VOAD conference tour the Church’s Humanitarian Center in Salt Lake City on April 14, 2023. Photo by Lisa Bagley, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Bagley said the conference showed the unity of diverse faiths and organizations coming together, including the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, Team Rubicon, UServe Utah, the Church of Scientology and many more.
“It’s all about networking and building those relationships in blue skies for when gray skies come,” she said.
Part of the conference included a visit to the Church’s Humanitarian Center in Salt Lake City, where participants took a tour and learned about the Church’s efforts to help those in need. The group also took part in a service project at the location by assembling hygiene kits in preparation for future needs.
VOAD
Participants with the Mountain West VOAD conference assemble hygiene kits at the Church’s Humanitarian Center in Salt Lake City on April 14, 2023. Photo by Lisa Bagley, courtesy of Church News.All rights reserved.Temporal Preparedness and Disaster Response
Bagley said Church members are fantastic at answering the call to help. But in a state like Utah with a high Church membership, members can be a part of the solution by coordinating with community emergency managers and partners as well.
During 17 years of living in multiple states and other countries with her family, Bagley said she has seen all the good that Church members and the Church organization has done in different communities.
Temporal preparedness or being prepared for emergencies is also a key part of disaster response. Bagley began by getting trained to help her own family in case a disaster struck their home or city. This can be done in the United States through official CERT training, which stands for Community Emergency Response Team.
“You could be a vetted volunteer right now,” Bagley said. “Be a part of the solution not the problem with a little bit of training and knowledge.”
The Church has many temporal preparedness resources listed online at www.churchofjesuschrist.org/life/temporal-preparedness-resources, and guidelines for emergency response can be found at www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/emergency-response?lang=eng.
A stake and ward Emergency Preparedness Planning Guide is located at preparedness.churchofjesuschrist.org with steps, worksheets and other information.
People can also find downloadable guides by local Church areas on that website.