Children’s Disaster Services offers training sessions

Children’s Disaster Services training. Photo by Lisa Crouch.

Children’s Disaster Services has three upcoming training events. Participants completing the 25-hour workshops will have the opportunity to become certified Children’s Disaster Services volunteers.

According to Lisa Crouch, Associate Director for Children’s Disaster Services, Church of the Brethren CDS volunteer numbers are “down lower than ever.”

“Only about 20% of CDS certified volunteers are affiliated with the Church of the Brethren,” she noted. “We would love to see that number increase again.”

Upcoming workshops include:

April 14-15 at Ebenezer United Methodist Church (Newark, Del.)

April 15-16 at La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren

April 28-29 at Fruit and Flower Child Care Center (Portland, Ore.)

For details and registration links, go to https://www.brethren.org/cds/training/dates/

Children’s Disaster Services workshop. Photo by Lisa Crouch.

Participants in the 25-hour workshops learn how to provide comfort and encouragement to children by offering the healing young children need in traumatic situations. They also learn to create a safe, friendly environment that gives children the chance to engage in therapeutic play activities designed to relieve stress and calm fears.

The workshops utilize a variety of hands-on activities. Topics include:

  • shelter simulation (including an overnight stay)
  • disasters (types and phases)
  • children
    • needs after a disaster
    • how to respond to children in a healing manner
    • the role of play after a disaster
    • how to use play to start recovery in children
  • Children’s Disaster Services Centers
    • set up
    • operation
    • safety procedures
    • volunteers’ roles
  • Self-care onsite and after returning home
Children’s Disaster Services training. Photo by Lisa Crouch.
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