Boots on the Ground:

Staying mentally healthy during disaster deployment

Twenty-four Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) AmeriCorps members just finished up a 30-day deployment to Texas assisting communities affected by Hurricane Harvey. We served alongside numerous other programs including the Texas Conservation Corps at American YouthWorks, Conservation Corps Minnesota and Iowa, AmeriCorps' Corporation for National and Community Service, and American Red Cross.

This week, we will send 12 WCC staff and AmeriCorps members to both Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands to help with the response to Hurricane Maria. Six more AmeriCorps members and staff are heading to Florida to assist communities affected by Hurricane Irma, and a new wave of 30 AmeriCorps members and staff will head for a second 30-day deployment to Texas.

AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams capacity expands

It's amazing how fast 24 hours can go by. When you’re serving on an AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team assignment, so much happens in 24 hours it feels like an entire week. It’s hard to believe that our WCC disaster response team members arrived in Austin just three weeks ago.

We have been serving 13-hour days, seven days a week, to maintain and support the overwhelming amount of donations and volunteers. If you were to ask anyone on the WCC response team how long they’ve been deployed to Texas, they might reply, “between 45 to 60 years.” That’s how long three weeks can feel during an emergency response.

A little more than a week ago, 38 Texas Conservation Corps (TxCC) and 52 Minnesota and Iowa Conservation Corps (CCMI) members arrived in Austin and we have been providing disaster response training and hands-on experience for the projects our new colleagues will support.

WCC AmeriCorps members Kelly Lewis (L) and Kayla Seaforth
(R) lead the AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team planning section.

Training new teams through
 peer-to-peer dialogue

As part of the training, we engaged in an exercise that meant a lot to me when I received it as part of my WCC service. We divided the group into two sections: Those who had previous disaster response experience and those who did not.

The seasoned responders wrote down the top five things they wish they had known before embarking on a response assignment. We asked those serving on their first disaster assignment to write their top 10 questions about what it's like to serve on a disaster response team. After much deliberation and conversation, representatives from each group reported back.

Our Texas colleague Byron Zuniga kicked off the session sharing a pointer from someone with response experience: “Remember to take a token or a favorite snack from home because it truly cannot be expressed how comforting a little bit of home can be when you're away for this long.”

As things got rolling, the dialogue opened up, turning into a conversation that helped those with any jitters about heading out to be deployed. The questions reminded more seasoned responders how much advice they had to offer.

WCC AmeriCorps members train with other A-DRT programs
to prepare for upcoming projects across Texas.

Taking time to focus
on mental health and self-care

I think everyone in the group soon realized they would be able to make it through a deployment alongside their friends and fellow AmeriCorps members. We also discussed a few light-hearted issues like ways to spend our down time such as reading books, learning new card games, and engaging in general relaxation activities.

Some of the questions were more serious – such as the best strategies to help people feeling overwhelmed by the disaster and sympathetic stress. That answer wasn't so cut and dried. We discussed taking time to get in touch with loved ones at home, talking with a close member of your crew, or asking for a day off to help with mental health. The atmosphere in the room was one of genuine kinship. The knowledge that everyone there really wanted to help felt supportive and encouraging.

Focused trainings worthwhile across programs

All too often in times of distress, mental health is pushed to the side. However, talking about these issues is one of the healthiest, most important things we can do to help people lower their emotional and physical stress during a disaster. Some of the things that happen during a disaster may not hit a responder until days or even weeks after they’re home and away from the incident.

Providing space for those feelings and talking with people with similar experiences helps responders process the experience. It was extremely reassuring to be in a room full of people telling everyone these feelings are normal and OK.

The issues surrounding mental health during and after a disaster was a critical part of my second- year disaster training as a WCC AmeriCorps member. I was excited to bring some of the same curriculum to a larger audience.

At the end of our training session in Texas, we handed out feedback sheets. Among the questions: “What was your favorite part of disaster training?” I was thrilled to see that overwhelmingly, people said the group discussion about what to expect and how to take care of yourself during and after a disaster response deployment was one of their top sessions.

Trained, geared up, and ready to assist communities in need

WCC AmeriCorps members utilize safety gear when entering homes for debris removal and other projects. Photos by Rob Crawford, Alex Wunder and Dillon Benitez.

CCMI is headed to Houston to begin home assessments and gutting projects while TxCC is off to Corpus Christi to do the same. I was honored to provide training for my colleagues in these amazing programs. I wish them all the best as they head out to their assignments, armed with a little more information and ability to better serve affected communities of Texas and themselves.

By Alex Wunder, WCC AmeriCorps Disaster Response Team public information officer

Join the WCC

Do you want to help the environment, meet great people and make a difference in your community? Recruitment for six-month WCC AmeriCorps positions will open in February 2018! Lean more and apply online today. See photos of the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC projects Flickr set and WCC featured projects story map.

Learn more about serving as a WCC AmeriCorps member: www.ecy.wa.gov/wcc

A day in the life of a WCC AmeriCorps member

Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) is seeking young adults ages 18-25 and military veterans for six-month positions on our crews across the state! The WCC, an AmeriCorps program run by Ecology, provides opportunities for young adults and veterans to gain hands-on environmental experience, field skills, formal training and funds for education.

But don’t take it from us! Learn what a WCC position is like from our current WCC AmeriCorps member Steven Quick:

My first few months in WCC

I’ve been interested in Washington Conservation Corps positions for a long time. WCC seemed like a great opportunity to be outdoors, learn about environmental careers and grow professionally. So, late last year I was thrilled by the opportunity to join a spike crew supervised by Junior Fuimaono as a 12-month WCC AmeriCorps member. So far, we have served mostly on planting and wetland rehabilitation projects for Dash Point, the city of DuPont and the city of Orting. We’ve also participated in eight-day service spikes for the Kitsap Conservation District (KCD).

Wait, what is a “spike?”

There are a number of different WCC crews throughout Washington state. A spike crew is intended to support short-term projects where a sponsor needs extra hands on deck or fill in if the normal crew is deployed on disaster response.

We’ve only spiked at KCD so far, planting tree plugs and live stakes. During spikes we are allotted money for meals, and lodging is arranged by the WCC program. During our KCD spikes we stayed at a local, family-owned inn in Poulsbo that offered breakfast every morning. I’m told the experience will be a lot different when we spike at places like Mt. Adams or Mt. Rainier as we’re likely to be roughing it in the backcountry.

What’s a typical week like? 

For every spike week so far, we arrive at our crew base in Tacoma at 7 a.m. like any other day and pack up the truck with tools based on what services we’ll be providing (planting, falling trees, etc). Tools could include a chainsaw, Pulaskis, rock bars, stake pounders, loppers and shovels. Then we head out to the project site together in a WCC truck to meet the sponsor, put in a good day’s worth of service, and get groceries before checking into the hotel or other lodging accommodations for the evening. I like to try to enjoy the local scenery or art if possible after a day in the field, but the crew normally brings a board game or something that occupies our time as well.

The services we undertake in the city are just as valuable to our personal enrichment as our spike assignments. Serving in the city of DuPont was an extremely enlightening week because it was the first week of the crew year, and it broke every single standard I had set. It was something to get used to, considering I’ve never had a position this laborious, but I adapted quickly. It was fun to mingle with other public service workers, make connections and create relationships for the future. Junior said on our first day, “Treat these people well, they could be your future employers.” After meeting so many different people through the projects we’ve accomplished, I’m already delighted by the idea of working with them more one day!

What else does the program offer?

I’ll never forget orientation week at Cispus Learning Center. It was a tremendous learning experience and a great chance to meet hundreds of other WCC AmeriCorps members from all walks of life. Orientation training involved a four-day spike week in the woods near Mt. Rainier, where we received the rundown on AmeriCorps expectations and attended additional courses to prepare us for our year in the WCC.

We go back to Cispus Learning Center again in March and June for extracurricular training courses on environmental topics for resume enrichment, which everyone is really excited for. Orientation, though, was particularly fascinating to me because of the sheer diversity of people and the chance to network and hear ideas.

WCC is already teaching me lessons for life

Ultimately, the lesson I’ve learned during my application process and over the last three months is to prepare and persevere. My supervisor, Junior, told me to take advantage of the networking opportunities this position offers. I encourage prospective applicants to do the same, even if they haven’t been interviewed yet. Find someone willing to share about the program and answer your questions!

Before WCC, I met two corps members that offered their recommendation, I spent time researching online to piece together what the next year would look like, and I spoke to people about what else I could do to put my best foot forward. I volunteered, wrote and researched. I think anyone can really grow in this program; it is what you make of it.

By: Steven Quick, WCC Pierce County spike crew AmeriCorps member

Do you want to help the environment, meet great people and make a real difference? Join Ecology's Washington Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps Program consisting of three subprograms: the core WCC, Veteran Conservation Corps and Puget SoundCorps.

See photos of the types of projects WCC members support during their service in our WCC Projects Flickr set and WCC Featured Projects Story Map. Learn more and apply online today to become a member of WCC:

www.ecy.wa.gov/wcc

WCC: Now hiring across the state!

Want to serve your community, improve habitat for fish and wildlife and restore the environment? Want to gain hands-on experience in the environmental field? Are you 18-25 years old or a military veteran? If so, we want to hire you for Washington Conservation Corps (WCC)!

WCC, an AmeriCorps program housed within Ecology, serves outdoors year-round to protect and enhance Washington’s natural resources. We also deploy, as needed, on local and national disaster response. By joining the WCC, you might find yourself planting native trees or shrubs along rivers and streams, improving forest health or building trails.

WCC projects could take you across the state to construct fencing, maintain backcountry trails or respond to a disaster. We cover food and lodging for our members if overnight travel is involved.

What types of positions do you offer?

WCC is recruiting on all 55 crews across the state through Oct. 3. Joining a crew means serving alongside four other members and a supervisor to complete restoration or trails projects. Some crews travel more than others. Learn more about our crews on our website!

WCC also offers an internship program called the Individual Placement (IP) Program. IPs serve individually with natural resource organizations across the state. These unique positions might monitor streams, survey fish, design restoration projects, map beaches, collect samples, create outreach materials or perform a host of other environmental tasks.

The details...

Interested in joining WCC? Check to see if you qualify:

• No experience? No problem!
• You must be a Washington State resident
• You must pass a background check
• You must be 18-25 years old, but age restrictions do not apply to Gulf War era II veterans, reservists and dependents

Most importantly, applicants must be willing to serve outdoors in all types of weather and contribute to a positive team atmosphere.

What do you get?

As a WCC member, you will make $9.47/hour. You will also earn an AmeriCorps Education Award of $5,775.00 for education after completing 1700 hours and your 12-month term.

Other benefits include:

• Basic health insurance for full-time (12-month) members
• In a new partnership with Walla Walla Community College, WCC members can now earn up to 18 college credits during their time in WCC
• Two weeks of paid training in career-transferable, environmental courses

Ecology's WCC consists of three subprograms: the core WCC, Veteran Conservation Corps and Puget SoundCorps. Visit our WCC featured projects story map to see examples of how our WCC members serve.

Click through to see examples of WCC AmeriCorps projects!

Learn more and apply online today to become a member of WCC: 

www.ecy.wa.gov/wcc