Volunteering neighbors train to aid injured disaster victims

Here’s a great example of how ‘Neighborhood Emergency Team’ members continue to learn, the year around, the skills to help outer East Portland neighbors in a disaster …

At this Neighborhood Emergency Team meeting in the Hazelwood neighborhood, volunteers gather to get practical experience doing ‘Patient Packaging and Transportation’.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

When a disaster strikes, it could take several hours – or days or even weeks – for professional emergency responders to make their way in to help people in our outer East Portland neighborhoods.

For this reason, the City of Portland established the “Neighborhood Emergency Team” system, which gives volunteers the needed training and resources.

Those in the Centennial Neighborhood Emergency Team (C-NET) hold regular meetings in which they discuss response to emergency scenarios, and develop new hands-on skills.

Along with another NET volunteer, C-Net Co-Coordinator Grace Hougey (at upper right) leads the exercise at the latest meeting.

At their last meeting, held on September 11 at the Sunnyside Seventh-Day Adventist Church in the Hazelwood neighborhood, C-NET members invited the NET volunteers at Mill Park, Hazelwood, Powellhurst-Gilbert, and Pleasant Valley ton join them for a joint training.

“At times, NET members from several neighborhoods come to train together, as we are doing this evening,” C-Net Co-Coordinator Grace Hougey told East Portland News.

C-Net Co-Coordinator Karen Wolfgang checks in with the volunteer “rescued patient” – C-NET volunteer Chelsey Roth – during the exercise.

“While we’ve all learned these skills through our individual training, we are here practicing them – specifically, tonight, ‘Patient Packaging and Transportation’ is the topic,” explained Hougey. “While one can learn a lot about this specific skill set by reading or watching videos, it’s much more helpful to actually practice them on a person.”

The skills NET volunteers learn go beyond helping in a major disaster – like a major earthquake, deadly weather, or a devastating fire – Hougey said. “By becoming skilled at this, we’ll be confident if we need to rescue somebody – or move them to or within a medical treatment area. Or, if we’re in the backcountry hiking with friends and family, we are able to more safely rescue and move around an injured person with the practical skills we have.”

Volunteers lift and prepare to carry the “injured patient” to a safe location, in this drill.

“No matter whether the incident is major or minor, we just want to be able to do something effective to help our neighbors, the residents of our neighborhood, perhaps even on our streets, when an emergency happens,” Hougey explained.

If you’re interested in becoming this sort of asset to your local community in times of crisis, you can learn more about C-Net on their Portland Prepares webpage: CLICK HERE.

Or, you can just learn more about the citywide NET program: CLICK HERE.

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