In the West, first responders are being overwhelmed with the scale of unprecedented and ongoing wildfires. In the Southeast, first responders are coping with one of the most active hurricane seasons on record. Across the United States, health departments are struggling to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. All this has created significant gaps in response needs and capabilities. Community volunteers have stepped up to fill those gaps where possible. They may need more support and resources.

Three examples illustrate the importance of community volunteers as responders. In Louisiana, an ad hoc group of volunteers known as the Cajun Navy supplemented search and rescue in the aftermath of Katrina and, more recently, for 2017 hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The group has hundreds of testimonials of its effectiveness. In Oregon, a similar group of volunteers, the “Hillbilly Brigade,” joined the fight against the 2020 wildfires. Among other accomplishments, the Brigade's twelve hundred members are credited for saving the town of Molalla, Oregon. And in New Orleans, the organization Imagine Water Works is supporting household-to-household mutual aid for the coronavirus and hurricanes. The group has thousands of members who have provided for each other everything from food to housing and diapers.

There is a need to provide financial and economic support for community response. Disaster responses cost hard dollars: gas for a boat to rescue people from a flood, running a bulldozer for digging lines, food and other aid distributed by these groups to survivors cost money. While many volunteers pay for assistance out of their own pockets, they might be more effective if they had greater financial support.

Read the full article about community volunteers by Gary Cecchine and Aaron Clark-Ginsberg at RAND Corporation.