OVER 844,000 PEOPLE
ARE AFFECTED EACH YEAR
BY DISASTERS
450 DECLARED DISASTERS PER YEAR
22.2 BILLION DOLLARS IN DAMAGE
Over the last decade we've ran into thousands of groups and volunteers, but few are as resourceful and dedicated to helping their neighbors as outdoorsmen. Outdoorsmen plan things meticulously. They get up early and work late. They clear brush and roads, service equipment, log countless miles, cook meals, and get up the next day to do it again. They rarely complain, and always follow through. We outdoorsmen are a rare breed - a breed extremely equipped to do the exact things that need to be done when a disaster occurs. OIA volunteers and network members come from many different backgrounds, and not all are outdoorsmen, but all share the same drive and conviction as those of us who are at home in the outdoors.
There are many organizations in the disaster relief world who do amazing work. Our goal is to not duplicate efforts, but to come alongside those making a difference and work toward the same goal - community restoration. While many organizations focus on delivering food, water, supplies, patching roofs and clearing debris, Outdoorsmen in Action's efforts are spent on helping the survivors recover - physically, spiritually, and emotionally. It's relatively easy to put a neighborhood back together. It's alot harder to help a survivor heal.
When disasters strike, Outdoorsmen in Action deploys a local Scout Team, which surveys the damage, assists crews in opening road access, provides immediate care to those affected, and reports back vital information to HQ. We then decide the scale of response and go to work.
Outdoorsmen in Action deploys a response trailer, stocked with necessary supplies often overlooked by other organizations. Cell phones, chargers, hygiene products, storage containers, diapers, stuffed animals, work gloves and more are loaded into the back of UTV's and ATV's, and hand-delivered to survivors. But that's just the beginning. Our teams meet with each family, obtaining specific information about them, their needs, and their resources. This information is communicated in real-time back to HQ, where we put to work the most vital tool in our arsenal - our network.
The OIA Network is comprised of churches, businesses, civic organizations and individuals who have agreed to help at a moment's notice. These groups utilize their members and resources to meet specific needs communicated to them by OIA. Families need to get their children to school or go to work. Parents need babysitters while they meet with insurance agents. Pets need to be taken care of until homes are repaired. People need spiritual and emotional counseling to deal with the stress and shock of their circumstances. The needs are endless. These issues are typically left up to the survivors to sort out, but we know that at their most desperate moment, these are the last things they need to be worried about. The members of the OIA network take it upon themselves to meet as many of these needs as they can, utilizing whatever is at their disposal.
Everyone looks to churches and civic organizations to provide assistance during times of disaster, but few are qualified enough to launch or manage their own comprehensive response, and resources are limited. While individual organizations can make a small impact on their own, the difference they can make as a collective network is exponentially larger.