RSVP of the South Bay responds to President Bush’s call to service. Text by Herb Stark. Photos by Pete Porter. RSVP volunteer Herb Stark sets up the command center.

Last year, President Bush in his State of the Union message specifically identified RSVP as one of the programs that he wanted to expand, unleashing the power of Senior Volunteers to help address the nation’s problems at the community level. The World Trade Center disaster focused the need for Homeland Security and Disaster Preparedness.

As we work to improve the quality of life of our seniors, more and more of our frail and elderly are living at home. These individuals depend upon the telephone and power for their very survival. Disasters such as the World Trade Center or a major earthquake could result in the loss of these critical utilities. Budget constraints limit the size of the police and emergency capabilities. Communities must depend on their own resources to survive a minimum of 72 hours before professional help can be made available.

RSVP’s successful proposal was to link Amateur Radio to the Neighborhood Watch Block Captains or community volunteers in a communications network, designated the Torrance Volunteer Disaster Network (TVDN), with the Torrance Emergency Operating Center, (EOC), located at the police station.

The focus of the program is an Amateur Radio station and database system, located at the RSVP office, containing the names, and medical issues of at-risk individuals and volunteers within the City of Torrance.

During a major disaster, where there is a loss of critical utilities, Neighborhood Watch Block Captains will be linked to the database through the emergency network. Block Captains will check on the status of the frail and elderly and where assistance is required, communicate back to the City’s EOC. The database will also contain a list of volunteer personnel who have medical and disaster experience living within the local community and could be directed to provide assistance. Thus, the system will minimize the life threatening risk to these individuals and allow the City to efficiently allocate the limited resources available.

Although the program will be started in the City of Torrance, RSVP looks at the project as a pilot program that will be expanded into the other Cities that RSVP serves, These are El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Lomita and the entire Palos Verdes Peninsula.

This has been an active period for the program since its initial announcement at one of Congress woman Jane Harman’s Emergency Preparedness workshops last year. The communications base station has been installed and tested. Over a hundred volunteers have signed up to participate in the program. The City of Torrance’s Emergency Preparedness plan has been modified to include the program. Workshops have been held for the City’s Block Captains and Amateur Radio Operators including a class for Block Captains who wanted to get their Amateur Radio License. Because of the need to put the system online as soon as possible, the pace of activity will not change in the coming months. April will see a training class for operators and an Amateur Radio License class.

RSVP volunteer Jes Davis hard at work at the center.

If you would like more information on the program or would like to volunteer please call RSVP at 310-320-3322