Press Release
For Immediate Release
February 28, 2007
Contact: Kim Cook
(972) 906-7441
www.iaam.org
AMERICAN RED CROSS AND THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ASSEMBLY
MANAGERS PARTNER FOR MEGA SHELTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES
MORE THAN 2,000 FACILITIES COULD SERVE AS SHELTER DURING DISASTER
Coppell, TX—Disaster readiness and response is a community collaboration
that involves many organizations and partners working together long
before a disaster actually strikes. When larger disasters affect a
community, it greatly impacts not only the infrastructure but also homes
and businesses. Working with community partners, the American Red Cross
focus is on having a safe place to house people near their homes and
community where they can begin the recovery process quickly.
After several months of planning and refining a community response plan,
the American Red Cross and the International Association of Assembly
Managers (IAAM) developed a partnership, outlined by a Memorandum of
Understanding, stating that both organizations with representation in
every state will work cooperatively with local officials to establish
procedures and protocols to open “mega shelters” during a disaster.
“Over the last several years, the Red Cross is continuing our efforts to
build our organization’s capacity to provide shelter and feeding
services following disaster. Our partnership with the IAAM allows the
Red Cross to integrate the expertise and resources of private sector
businesses and corporations to improve the community’s overall system of
disaster response,” says Joe Becker, senior vice-president preparedness
and response for the American Red Cross.
A mega shelter is an arena, stadium, convention center, or performing
arts theater that is used to house evacuees before, during, or after a
major disaster. This Memorandum of Understanding formalizes a strategic
relationship that will provide shared training, agreed upon standards
for mega shelters, and national trained leadership teams to help a local
facility open, manage and operate a shelter. It allows the Red Cross to
add additional mega shelters to its cadre of smaller facilities that are
available during an emergency. Presently, there are 3,200 IAAM members
around the world that represent more than 2,000 facilities in the United
States.
"It is critical that we provide a safe environment for our citizens
affected by a disaster. Shelter services have many partners which are
needed and one entity cannot shoulder that entire responsibility.
Partnerships such as this between IAAM and the Red Cross are vital to
ensuring life safety during emergencies," adds Larry B. Perkins,
Certified Facilities Executive, IAAM President.
Each year the Atlantic Hurricane Season runs from June 1-November 30.
Before Hurricane Katrina, most shelters consisted of schools, churches,
and recreation centers. They were small facilities accommodating up to
300 persons, on average. For the first time in our nation’s history, in
response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, arenas, convention centers, and
stadiums were used to accommodate tens of thousands of evacuees over
eight weeks.
The International Association of Assembly Managers is the world's
largest professional association dedicated to issues relevant to the
management of public assembly facilities. Members of the association
manage public assembly facilities such as amphitheaters, arenas,
auditoriums, convention centers/exhibit halls, performing arts venues,
stadiums and university complexes; or provide products, services or
attractions to support the industry. IAAM has more than 3,200 members
worldwide. More information is available at
www.iaam.org.
The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to
emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees
helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to
millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families
stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red
Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United
States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross
and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the
Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The
Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time,
money, and blood to do its work.
###