Shelter Response

On July 10, the chapter worked with Loudoun County Family Services and the Office of Emergency Management to stage, and set-up a shelter. The request was in response to the hostage situation in Leesburg that had started earlier that day.
When asked about the response, David P. Chesler, Director of Emergency Services, said that, "Disasters aren't planned. They just happen. I'm very proud of all of our volunteers that changed their plans to help us help the community." You can read an interview David participated in with the Loudoun Times here.
In order to staff the shelter, volunteers were called into the chapter starting around 6:30 p.m. At that time, volunteers worked to load the chapter's Emergency Response Vehicle with Heater Meals, and bottled water. Volunteers also used knowledge learned during drills to hook up the chapter's shelter truck & trailer. Each shelter trailer can serve 100 people once opened and contains cots, blankets, necessary paperwork, and other materials. The video shows the volunteers working to hook the trailer to the truck:



The chapter had volunteers on stand-by should the shelter go into the overnight hours. The chapter would like to thank the Safeway on King Street in Leesburg for their donation of a gift card which was used to purchase ice for the shelter workers, clients & emergency personnel, as well as the King Street Roy Rogers for their readiness to donate 50 breakfast sandwiches & orange juice should those items be needed! Additional thanks go to the National Capital Area Chapter who stood ready to support us with shelter teams and nurses, along with the Regional Disaster Coordination Center, and all of the volunteers who made themselves available!