The Haller Lake Emergency Hub (and the Hller Lake P-Patch Emergency Hub)

This is a recruiting post. 

There are about 750,000 people living in Seattle, and perhaps another 50,000 visitors at any given time.  There are about 8,000 emergency responders: police, fire fighters, ambulance drivers, and similar.  In an earthquake, a large fire, a major power failure, civil disturbance, or other disaster, the emergency responders will be overwhelmed.  We might survive the earthquake only to die in the aftermath.

Recognizing this problem, a group of volunteers have formed the Seattle Emergency Hubs (See  Emergency Preparedness, Disaster Awareness | Seattle Emergency Hubs).  We have created list of about 127 hubs of which 65 are active and 62 are not yet active.  The Haller Lake Emergency Hub (HLEH) is considered active, since it has a hub captain (me) and an active grant application.   The Haller Lake P-Patch Emergency Hub (HLPEH), by way of contrast, is not yet active, because it does not have a hub captain nor anything else (hint, hint).

I am looking for a few halfway decent people.

The hub captain role is really an administrator role.  The hub captain applies to the City of Seattle for a grant, typically less than $5,000, to get a construction box and fill it with disaster supplies.  The hub captain also recruits a staff of volunteers to run the hub when the disaster occurs.  The list of the volunteer positions can be found at How to Create a Hub.

My primary job at the moment is to shepherd the Haller Lake Emergency Hub grant proposal through the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods.  My secondary job is getting trained on the roles so I can talk about what they entail when I go recruiting.  My tertiary job is to recruit a hub captain for the HLPEH.  If truth be told, I have not been doing a very job of recruiting.

My target demographic has been both older people and younger people.  Older people have the time and the vision to see a broader community that needs taking care of.  Younger people have the energy and the creativity to come up with innovative solutions to unexpected problems, and a disaster is going to throw all kinds of unexpected problems ("what unexpected problems?", you might ask.  "I don't know.  If I knew what the unexpected problems would be, they wouldn't be unexpected, now, would they?").  Middle age people have got too many immediate problems to deal with, such has holding down a job, dealing with children, and maintaining a household.  But anybody who is interesting in helping out is certainly welcome.

I am recruiting for volunteers to run the Haller Lake Emergency Hub in a disaster.  This emergency hub will be a place to gather to connect people who have resources with people who need resources.  There will be a reliable communications link with other emergency hubs/  There will be information on how to survive until help can arrive.

If/when the disaster occurs, then consider coming to the HLCC.  The building has survived many earthquakes so it is likely to survive The Next One.  Disaster relief will need a large open area and the east side of the building might be a good place for them to set up.

Also, there are two drills coming up:  Saturday June 7th Noon to 4 PM at El Centro De La Raza (2524 16th Ave S., Seattle, WA  98144) and Sunday June 22nd Noon to 4 PM at Maple Leaf Park, (8204 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle, 98115).

Please contact me at your convenience for more information: jeffsilverm@gmail.com or HallerLakeHub@gmail.com (253) 459-2318.

 

 

 

 

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