FEMA Corps

For three days, starting October 22, the L-O-U community hosted its first visit by an AmeriCorps FEMA Corps team.  Given the prevalence and severity of disasters and other hazards, particularly in recent years, FEMA sought ways to diversify and fortify its existing disaster workforce structure to enhance and streamline its effectiveness.  On March 13, 2012, the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) formed AmeriCorps FEMA Corps as a 1,600 member-strong volunteer agency charged with helping to build, sustain, and improve America’s capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate hazards.

According to the CNCS’s website, FEMA Corps members, who are aged 18-24, commit 10 months of their lives to FEMA to gain significant training and experience in disaster services because they have the desire to serve, give back to people in need, and prepare for careers in emergency management.  Corps members assist with disaster preparedness, response, and recovery activities, providing support in areas ranging from working directly with disaster survivors to supporting disaster recovering centers to sharing valuable disaster preparedness and mitigation information with the public.

Kyle Waller, who manages public relations for this particular team, explained that members met with emergency management personnel for both the City of Oxford and the University of Mississippi to get a “better understanding of how local emergency management responds to disasters” and to “gather information on what worked, what didn’t, and how could FEMA better develop relationships with local organizations.”  This is actually the first AmeriCorps FEMA Corps team charged specifically with this particular mission and have been traveling to various communities throughout Mississippi.

Similar to other AmeriCorps programs, AmeriCorps FEMA Corps members work full time but are required to live frugally during their term of service.  Team members, usually 8-12 volunteers, each receive a living stipend of $150.00 every two weeks and a food allowance of $4.75 per day.  The program provides a 15 passenger van for them to travel in and helps organize for housing opportunities in the communities to which they travel.  Although these limited living accommodations are challenging and coping with stress can be “difficult mentally”, Waller suggests that serving in AmeriCorps FEMA Corps can “open new doors,” help “redefine your comfort zone,” and “gives you a positive outlook on life.”  It is almost like earning a “master’s degree on life.”  Furthermore, team members who complete their term of service receive an award of $5,645 for education-related expenses.  For more information or if you wish to apply to FEMA Corps or to another branch of AmeriCorps please visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.