Well I only spent an hour at the shelter before all volunteers were called in for a meeting where they announced that Portland would not be receiving any evacuees. In one second the mood of the room went from high-energy confusion and motivation to one of dispair. While KD7EFP and I had only been there a short time most of the people had been working long hours to prepare the shelter. And that shelter was prepared, let me tell you. There was plenty of cots for sleeping, food, shower facilities, mental health rooms, a well staffed first aid room. I'm glad to know that my neighbors are willing to lend a hand when it's needed and I feel bad for them.

One of the best things about the shelter was the volunteer staff. There were people from all over. I saw a wide variety of ages and colors. All ready to work together and help out. This is the way things should be all the time.

I've had a few people ask me about how they can get involved with helping out after the disaster. There are quite a few ways you can become part of the solution. The fastest and easiest way is to volunteer with the Red Cross. By volunteering with your local chapter you'll get notifications when they need help and you'll get the training you need to make a difference. The Red Cross chapter that covers Portland has an average of 1 house fire every 32 hours so they always need help.

Another option is to join your local CERT group. Once you complete the set of classes you'll be part of a team of people who are trained respond to local disasters.

Finally, and my favorite, method is to get your amateur radio license. A simple multiple-choice test is all you need to complete for a technician class license and you can use that to help out in a variety of areas. I'm glad to see the amateur radio response for Katrina is getting a lot more press. Besides responding to disasters I've used my license to assist in many charity events.

I just received another call from WA7HI. The evacuees are arriving and they need help staffing the booth today. So I'm off to help out with a shift from 2pm to 6pm.

WA7HI called me before I left this morning to let me know that the call for help had been postponed today. I don't know any details but we talked for a few minutes about when I was available to help. So I'm hoping to get some time in sometime in the next few days. Since losing my job I don't really have any money to donate and this was my way of doing my part to help those in need.

If nothing else I was able to practice digging through a lot of boxes to get everything together. I'll be spending some time the next few days to get it all packed up and properly stowed. My goal is to be able to respond to a call for help in less than an hour.

I just received the phone call from WA7HI activating me for ARES service. Portland is receiving refugees from Katrina tomorrow at 3pm and I'll be there from 2pm until 6pm tomorrow to help with communications. I'm glad that I'm finally going to use some of my training to help people. Now I must go gather everything and get it assembled for tomorrow.

73 de KD7LAH