Winter and Spring Workshops Are Offered by Children’s Disaster Services

By Kathleen Fry-Miller

Photo by Patty Henry
CDS volunteers care for children in Moore, Okla., following a devastating tornado

Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) has issued a winter-spring workshop schedule for 2016. The CDS training obtained at these workshops is a unique kind of disaster preparedness training. The trainings will include logistics of disaster response work, all through the lens of compassionate care for children and their families, as well the caregivers themselves.

Here are the 2016 locations, dates, and contact information:

Jan. 29-30, 2016, Sebring (Fla.) Church of the Brethren; local contact Terry Smalley, 863-253-1098 or sebringcob@outlook.com

March 18-19, 2016, Florida Christian Center in Jacksonville, Fla.; local contact Tina Christian, cdsgulfcoast@gmail.com or 561-475-6602

April 1-2, 2016, Cumberland County Emergency Management Agency Windham, Maine; local contact Margaret Cushing, 207-892-6785 or cushing@cumberlandcounty.org

April 16-17, 2016, La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren; local contact Kathy Benson, 909-593-4868.

In addition, CDS is holding two specialized employer-sponsored workshops: in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 12 for the Agenda for Children (Child Care Resource and Referral); and in Orange, Calif., on Feb. 29-March 1, for the Social Service Agency, Orange County Government.

Children’s Disaster Services trains and certifies volunteers to provide care for children and families following disasters, working with the American Red Cross, FEMA, and other disaster response agencies. Anyone 18 years old or older is welcome to attend this 27-hour overnight training.

The training is an overnight experience, simulating a shelter situation, and includes an overview of the work of CDS, understanding phases of disaster and how CDS fits in, working with disaster partners, children and family needs following disaster, supporting resilience in children, setting up a children’s center with a Kit of Comfort, ethical guidelines, and the certification process.

The website for registration is www.brethren.org/cds/training/dates.html .

Kathleen Fry-Miller is associate director of Children’s Disaster Services and a member of the staff of Brethren Disaster Ministries.

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