BUTLER TWP — Members of a Butler volunteer group came together with the American Red Cross on Saturday, training to help provide needed emergency response in the county.

The Pennsylvania Volunteers sponsored the event at American Legion Post 778, which included a hands-on training from the American Red Cross with a simulation of shelter response, setup and other requirements when emergency shelters from the Red Cross are utilized.

“This is one of the biggest areas of emergency management needed in our county,” Rich Wilson, vice president of the Pa. Volunteers, said.

Gail Wilhelm, training facilitator for the Red Cross, said the skills-based event allowed members of the group to become acquainted with how to set up a Red Cross shelter, if a disaster was to strike the area and the shelter was needed to house individuals affected.

There were several aspects of training, including setting up, food service and registration.

“The Red Cross has several community partners, especially with the shelter program, including churches and civic groups,” she said. “We have been partnering with the Pa. Volunteers since last fall, and it is great because we are always in need for people to volunteer in shelters.”

Wilhelm said when the need arises, the Red Cross staffs shelters throughout the Western Central Pennsylvania chapter, which includes six counties.

When local volunteers are available it helps ease the burden, she said.

“We love Pa. Volunteers, they have been very helpful,” Wilhelm said.

Wilhelm's husband William, a disaster program specialist with the Red Cross, said partnering with civic groups such as Pa. Volunteers allows the organizations to rely on each other's strengths in responding to disasters.

“Using each other's strengths, experience and training brings a lot of things to Pa. Volunteers, as well as a lot to the Red Cross,” he said. “The Red Cross is all about partnerships.”

Wilson, the Pa. Volunteers' vice president, said the 40-member nonprofit group was started in Butler in early 2017, to allow more people to become familiar with volunteer opportunities in the community, and cross-train those volunteers to respond to a wide range of emergencies.

“Volunteerism is at an all-time low,” he said. “Every organization that counts on volunteers is suffering.”

Wilson said one of the reasons that is occurring is because those trained in emergency response sometimes wait long periods before utilizing those and become inactive. The mission of the Pa. Volunteers is to combine those training scenarios, cross training members in a wide-range of emergency response situations, to help support first responders, including fire departments, ambulance services, municipal organizations and emergency management organizations.

“We work with the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the state government under PEMA (Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency), FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and the Department of Health,” he said. “We have a whole cross area of training that many volunteers do not.”

Wilson said the group becomes active by the Butler Department of Emergency Services, and can respond to a large array of disaster situations.

“All our people get all of their certifications and clearances and everything else,” he said. “There is always something going on or help that is needed.”

He said the group will next be involved in Citizen Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, which will teach specialized skills in fire response, traffic control, medical and search and rescue skills, and allows volunteers with the certification to respond to disasters nationwide if called upon.

“If there is work that needs done, we are trained to do that,” he said.

Reinaldo Toro, of Penn Township, said he has been a member since the beginning, because he wanted to find a way to give back to the community.

He said the shelter training is great, as volunteers learn the procedures so they know what to do if called upon to help staff a shelter.

Shawndra Holmberg, of Butler, said she moved to Butler from Hawaii, where she served as a bioterrorism preparedness planner for the Hawaii District Health Office, and now serves as director of communications for the group.

She said when volunteers are not trained, they become a liability rather than a help.

“We partner with numerous organizations to support all first responders,” she said.

Amy Wilson, of Center Township, and treasurer of the group, thanked the Red Cross for providing the training in various aspects of emergency preparation.

“With this training, the Red Cross will have a ready, trained group of volunteers, which is very valuable to them.” she said.