What is an Emergency Evacuation Shelter?

An Emergency Evacuation Shelter provides a temporary haven for victims displaced from their homes by natural or man-made disasters.

The physical spaces used as shelters are part of everyday life: schools, sports arenas, houses of worship… They are organized and prepared in advance and activated as shelters when disaster strikes, staffed by a volunteer team from the host organization and a team from the American Red Cross. Shelters serve their neighborhoods and, in a wider crisis, surrounding communities. Emergency Evacuation Shelters are for disaster response, not homeless or refugee housing.

IPERC is committed to building a network of local emergency evacuation shelters and stands ready to help houses of worship that want to join the effort:

• Learning about what is involved in being an emergency evacuation shelter
• Evaluating the role your facility can play
• Making contact with your local Fire Department and Red Cross office
• Setting up a team of shelter volunteers
• Arranging training