The American Red Cross is looking for local volunteers ahead of wildfire season to help out.
The most-needed volunteer opportunities are supporting sheltering efforts; licensed health care professionals are needed to assess people's health, and biomedical-services help is also needed.
"The coronavirus pandemic will make it challenging to deploy trained disaster volunteers from other parts of the country, should an emergency occur,” said Sean Mahoney, regional CEO of the American Red Cross Southern California Region.
Due to COVID-19, the Red Cross is placing those in need of a safe place to stay in emergency hotel rooms when possible. When hotel stays aren't possible, the Red Cross will open traditional shelters. Volunteers are needed to staff shelter reception, registration, feeding, dormitories, information collection and other vital tasks.
People who wish to volunteer as an RN, LPN, LVN, APRN, NP, EMT, paramedic, MD/DO or PA and hold active, current or unencumbered licenses will be able to help assess people's health, provide daily observations and health screenings for COVID-19 illness among shelter residents.
The Red Cross is also seeking volunteers to work as Blood Donor Ambassadors and Blood Transportation Specialists to welcome visitors to Red Cross facilities or blood drives and to take their temperature before they enter.
If you're interested in volunteering, visit the Red Cross website.
