The Joyce Disaster Service Center (DSC) will serve as the community “help desk” following a Cascadia Subduction Zone mega quake, a one-stop shop for people to obtain available information about recovery services and disaster assistance. The DSC will be located at the front end of the Joyce Emergency Shelter (JES), housed in the Joyce Bible Church (JBC) which has been designated the rally point for the post-CSZE Joyce micro island. For those able to make their way to town, the DSC will be the first place they visit to receive information and assistance. Its purpose will be to prevent individuals with non-shelter problems from jamming the shelter registration desk and interfering with shelter operations. People in need of shelter will be referred to the shelter office by the DSC. If eligible for admission, they will receive temporary emergency human services support, including but not limited to shelter, food, water, health care, mental health support and safety.
The DSC will have a role in coordinating area food resupply/distribution and evacuation, required to avoid loss of life. It will also share information about those willing/able to provide emergency meals in area neighborhoods, about the Joyce Community Point of Distribution (CPOD) when established, about the location of potable water trucks for local residents to fill large containers, and about other community plans for the distribution of food, water and supplies as they become available. People with non-shelter related issues will be assisted at the DSC.
The Joyce Disaster Center is not intended to become a long term recovery support center. Long term recovery support services will have to be handled by county resources.
Opening the JES
The Shelter and its DSC will open if (1) the community is isolated from Port Angeles by the collapse of the Elwha River bridges, or (2) damage to Port Angeles is so severe that evacuation to/and supply from the city is not feasible. Temporary shelter will be necessary for some victims until they can be relocated to their repaired shelter-in-place locations or evacuated by boat or helicopter, which may not be possible for a week or more. Communication is likely to be extremely difficult in the immediate aftermath of a CSZ quake, and outside support is expected to be extremely limited for 3-4 weeks in a worst case scenario following a major quake. Public and private services (normally considered essential) will likewise be extremely limited, and possibly unavailable during shelter and mass care operations. Having stockpiled food, and a large assortment of materials and equipment, JEPP is prepared to assume responsibility for shelter and care beyond what families can provide for themselves. The Joyce Emergency Shelter will be a secure, limited entry facility after a mega quake. Activities in support of the shelter will require the full attention of its staff and volunteers.
The JES mission
Joyce's emergency shelter will provide temporary emergency relief to disaster victims and facilitate the survival of Joyce residents and others trapped in the earthquake-created micro island until outside help arrives.
Anticipated JES population
In 2016, The population of the designated Joyce micro-island was 3,800 people. At the time, JEPP's assumed 1 in 10 persons (380) in the Joyce community would seek public shelter (Phase 1 of the shelter proposal planned to shelter and feed 120 persons for 1 week. Additional phases would add supplies to boost shelter capacity to 300 as funds became available). However, post hurricane studies conducted in Florida estimated that 1 in 4 persons in the general population would be displaced during hurricane emergencies. In keeping with this and other useful information, its first years as a committee the JEPP group assumed a similar displacement following a CSZE, but expected a large percentage of the community's displaced would seek to avoid Joyce’s public disaster shelter by sheltering in place or with neighbors, friends and relatives. It was understood that many of those choosing to shelter in place would still require local shelter services for meals and information. The remaining percentage of the population would require shelter and seek admission to the Joyce Emergency Shelter (JES). Shelter residents able to repair their homes or stay with others may quickly leave the shelter. Those remaining in the shelter for 2-4 weeks would likely include those with scant resources.
Those sheltering in place
Many residents who suffer some structural damage to their home following the CSZE will not require admission to the JES and may choose instead to remain on their property (i.e., camp-out) rather than make their way to the public disaster shelter. Some in this category will still request support and disaster assistance from JEPP and the JES. These will be addressed initially by the DSC. Registered shelter residents who can either repair their homes following aftershocks or stay elsewhere with have family or friends may leave the shelter after a short spell. Those remaining in the shelter will include those with scant resources, the unemployed, the elderly living on social security, and those from single parent households. Those remaining in the Joyce shelter when its resources run out may opt to evacuate the area
Staffing the DSC
Volunteers staffing the DSC will be guided by pre-printed manuals, guidelines and templates. In late 2021, the Joyce CERT team's training and exercise shifted to the Joyce Emergency Shelter (JES) and preparations for facilitating its DSC. Members of the Joyce CERT team who can manage to get to town will deploy to the JES with their go bags and gear, ready to provide needed assistance, soon after a major disaster or catastrophe and after attending to family and neighbors by applying CERT knowledge and skills. CERT members will rendezvous at the DSC. Once there, decisions will be taken and tasks assigned. Joyce CERT will be prepared to serve alongside other members of the community trained to operate the JES and its DSC in a crisis. Volunteers staffing the DSC will be guided by pre-printed manuals, guidelines and templates - a prepared kit.
The DSC’s function
The Joyce Emergency Shelter’s Disaster Service Center (DSC) will serve as a central point for the coordination of post-disaster emergency response in our small community. It will provide a secure place to get people out of the weather. It will be isolated from the rest of the Joyce Bible Church (JBC) complex to comply with shelter security requirements. DSC volunteers will gather situational awareness of conditions within the Joyce Operational Area and pass the information on to the local fire department (CCFD#4) and JACC who will then forward particulars to Clallam County’s EMD. In addition to serving as the Joyce Operational Area's public meeting place, message center and community help desk, the DSC will coordinate efforts for local food and water distribution and shelter-in-place efforts, direct members of the public to medical services and other needed services, serve as a volunteer recruitment and mobilization center, serve as a reunification and health and welfare emergency contact center, and serve as the location for screening the public prior to referring those requiring shelter to the shelter registration desk.
DSC limitations
The DSC will be limited to providing weather protection, basic first aid, security, bathroom facilities and water in the initial stages. As conditions improve, it may be possible to provide a limited amount of warm drinks and soup.
DSC provisions
Among other provisions, the DSC will maintain a bulletin board for posting news, instructions, and advice - as a central clearinghouse for the collection and distribution of timely and accurate news and information on all aspects of relief and recovery services (the shelter itself will also provide bulletin boards to post news, shelter rules, daily schedules, meal times and other notifications for shelter residents). The DSC will serve as the focal point for tracking and updating information on missing persons, and will maintain a Lost and Found board for those looking for loved ones or pets. In addition, the DSC will provide a primary location and means for the staging, mobilization and deployment of emergent community volunteers. Opportunities for volunteers in the CSZE recovery effort include food services, shelter services, health care, translation, home repairs and clean up, supporting special populations, and animal care (assisting in reuniting lost pets with their owners and providing information about temporary pet shelters). The DSC may also serve as a central clearing-house for receiving requests for transportation and for providing or coordinating transportation resources.
The DSC and Crescent School
If a CSZE occurs while school is in session, in the catastrophic earthquake's immediate aftermath the school will become a temporary shelter for its student population until pre-designated adults arrive to reunite with their children. Crescent School will likely shelter students in its modular classrooms as the gym and main classroom wings may be unstable and too damaged to occupy safely. The school will communicate closely with the adjacent Joyce Emergency Shelter as the situation unfolds.