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Statesboro volunteers, VOAD and local news outlet describe neighborhood disaster response efforts
Summary
Residents and volunteer organizations described Statesboro—fforts to map road closures, coordinate volunteers and raise recovery funds after storms, citing local volunteer training and a neighborhood alert map.
Statesboro residents and volunteer organizations described local disaster-response work that they say helps neighbors stay safe after storms. Edie, a resident who helped start BOAD, said she and her father built a real-time disaster map after Hurricane Matthew to notify neighbors about road closures and conditions.
The accounts matter because they portray community-led systems that residents say supplement official emergency response during and after storms. Speakers credited volunteer training, local fundraising and communications tools with improving recovery and resilience.
Edie (Resident) said, “After hurricane Matthew in 2016, my dad and I started both BOAD ... I then decided in our last storm to create a real time disaster map so that we could notify our neighbors with road closures and so they could stay safe and connected.” Julius, identified as a member of VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), said VOAD unites churches, nonprofits and emergency officials when disaster strikes. Dwayne Grice, founder of Grice Connect, said his hyper-local news outlet publishes Edie nd VOAD—ontent free to help residents and responders.
Speakers gave several quantitative details about the volunteer network and fundraising: BOAD has responded to “over 15 disasters” and trained “over 46 local volunteers,” and the Bullock Strong Fund raised "over $60,000" last year. A speaker identified as Julius also said VOAD partners with Feed the Burrow, which the presentation said has served "more than 3,000,000 meals for families in need in Bullock County." The presentation did not provide documentation for those figures in the session.
Discussion was descriptive: presenters outlined activities and results rather than proposing or adopting policies or city actions. No motions or formal city decisions were made on the record during this presentation segment.
Background: Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) is a common national model for coordinating faith-based, nonprofit and community volunteers with emergency managers; BOAD and Grice Connect were described as local groups and media engaged in those activities. The presenters emphasized neighbor-to-neighbor assistance, volunteer training and local fundraising as core elements of their approach.
Speakers identified in this segment included Edie (Resident), Julius (VOAD member), and Dwayne Grice (Founder, Grice Connect).
