TEMECULA: Group branches out to assist in disasters

Longtime charity group delves into emergency response

By NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer | Friday, July 18, 2008 6:58 PM PDT ∞

TEMECULA ---- For nearly 15 years, the community group People Helping People has been reaching out to those facing personal emergencies. Now, on the eve of fire season, the nonprofit group is preparing to be there for the entire community if disaster strikes Southwest County.

Standing inside the donated warehouse that is now the group's headquarters, Denny Mighell runs through a litany of situations from fires to floods to earthquakes to terrorist attacks that area residents could face. Then he starts with the questions:

What plans do you have to meet up with your children?

What preparations have you made for medical needs?

Are you prepared for three to five days of living on your own?

Mighell assumes that many folks haven't considered those issues. But beyond personal preparations, he sees a need and opportunity to create a local disaster response center that can coordinate the collection and distribution of donated items, be a central meeting place for displaced residents or lost children, and serve as a home base for an army of prescreened volunteers ready to go where city, police or fire officials need them.

"We're not trying to replace anyone; we want everyone to get involved and to have a centralized location for help, so people know exactly where to go," he said. "If you have everyone out there doing their own thing, it's not going to work."

The Big Daddy of disaster relief groups, the American Red Cross, also understands the importance of coordination, said Julie Pardini, emergency services director for the Riverside County chapter of the organization.

Because the Red Cross cannot offer some services directly ---- such as housing animals at its shelters or accepting clothing donations ---- it works with other groups that do.

Pardini said outside groups, such as People Helping People, can simultaneously carry on their own community outreach efforts, which can reduce the workload facing the Red Cross and ease the suffering of those in a disaster.

Mighell said it all boils down to increasing the opportunities to help as many people as possible during an emergency.

He said that waiting until a disaster strikes to decide what people to mobilize is a recipe for mass confusion. He noted that a plethora of established volunteer groups, such as the Rotarians, Elks and various women's clubs, could be recruited before a major emergency.

"If we are organized in the beginning, we can cut the number of man-hours down, get people with particular skills in the right places and run more efficiently," he said. "We want to be ahead of the game, not at the end of it."

People Helping People formed in 1992 when Mighell and his wife, Maryann, heard about a local shelter for abused children that didn't have any Christmas presents for the kids. The Mighells and a number of other businesspeople got together and gathered gifts for the children. Since then, they've collected Christmas presents every year for children, families and seniors in need, and they've branched out to helping folks who've fallen on tough times during the rest of the year as well.

The People Helping People warehouse that serves as its headquarters is next to Gold's Gym, 26201 Ynez Road, Suite 102. Mighell said he anticipates dedicating one-third of the 20,000-square-foot space to disaster response and plans to stock it with water, nonperishable foods, cots, sleeping bags and clothing.

"There is no doubt in my mind that we could do the job," Mighell said as he stood in the gargantuan loading area of the warehouse.

Having the knowledge and resources to deal with an emergency situation is good medicine, and the importance of planning is being recognized by various agencies and a growing number of community members.

Tamra Middlecamp, senior management analyst for the city of Temecula, said residents are showing a growing interest in learning how to help themselves and the community during an emergency. As an example, she highlights the free Community Emergency Response Team training classes, which offer 20 hours of instruction to help deal with mass crisis.

"Every class we offer gets filled up immediately," she said. "There are a good amount of people who are interested, but, of course, I wish there were more."

She said that, just as it was illustrated in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, there will always be more people who need help than emergency responders who can assist them. So a member in every household should take the first steps of learning first aid, having a preparedness kit and a disaster plan, she added.

"Everyone is busy these days, and to focus on a 'what-if' scenario is difficult," she said. "But it would be good if people just took the time to put together a basic disaster plan. It will make a huge difference in the long run."

For details or to volunteer with People Helping People, call (951) 757-5212, visit tvphp.org or e-mail tvphp@verizon.net.

Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.