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organization, a local EM agency may meet quarterly with local
non-governmental groups to share information and discuss EM
issues. Compared with private companies, non-governmental
organizations are viewed more philanthropically as they work
voluntarily with local governments, consider human needs, and
are more involved in the community providing shelter, medical
services, food, and clothing during disasters. A small county
director mentioned that the following:
I will ask help from non-profit [organizations] if I don’t
have enough manpower. Like if I had a family that lost
their home . . . we don’t even have a clothing store here,
so we may have to have the United Way four miles
away send them [the families] the clothes or whatever
to help the families or send furniture to help the
families, not relying on the staff from other [public]
agencies. The non-profit . . . we have the network and
they all work together and try to get the supplies you
need to victims. (ID9)
Local faith-based groups are also important volunteer
partners providing manpower to local governments in response
to disasters. The director of a large county noted the following:
There are lots of churches within our communities.
They have large followings . . . that is a huge resource
there in the way of manpower and facilities . . . we try
to work with the faith-based organizations as well. (ID2)
Non-governmental organizations have their own strengths
with respect to providing diverse assistance in case of an event.
Local EM agencies collaborate with these partners, offering
whatever they can do best. Local EM agencies are responsible
for recognizing the professional capabilities of each non-
governmental organization and assigning it appropriate duties
when responding to various types of disasters. An interviewee
mentioned the following: