Heritage Christian Church on Feb. 7 was the site of the annual Fayette County Faith-based Disaster Network conference attended by 60 local residents with presentations by local, state and federal agencies.
FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) representative Dr. Cheryl Catchings delivered the keynote address on the importance of faith-based organizations during a disaster.
A third generation military veteran, Catchings said she travels the nation for FEMA to see what communities are doing.
“And Fayette County is way out front,” Catchings said.
Noting the preponderance of faith-based communities across America, Catchings said 84 percent of Americans are affiliated with religious traditions and 60 percent turn to their religious leaders first after a disaster. In all, said Catchings, there are 345,000 congregations in the United States.
Catchings reviewed five essential functions of faith-based organizations during and after a disaster.
Those included survivor assistance, compiling assessments and reports, pre- and post-registration, status inquiries and updates and referrals to “whole community partners.”
Whole community partners, said Catchings, are those organizations that provide a vast array of services such as food pantries and counseling. The whole community approach ensures that solutions which serve the entire community are implemented, she said.
“Because this is the village that we serve,” Catchings added, again using Fayette as an example of what can be done. “Some communities haven’t started and don’t know how important it is to have the faith-based community involved.”
Catchings said responders and the community can be overwhelmed during a significant disaster.
“This is another reason you’re doing good,” she said. “You guys are ahead of many other communities. What you’re doing is amazing.”
Catchings is a long-time community psychologist and serves as the FEMA Region IV Branch Director for Disaster Survival Assistance.
Other presentations at the conference included one by Prepare Fayette County, a Georgia Power storm response overview, the Fayette County Fire and Emergency Services winter storm response and a presentation on the Ebola virus by the Ga. Dept. of Public Health.
