This is a Faith Based Disaster Response plan that will provide spiritual support to survivors of trauma and disasters. This training is consistent with the guidelines established by the National VOAD Emotional and Spiritual Care Committee.

To host a training or if you have questions about the training contact:

Kristen Curtis
Kristen.Curtis@bgav.org
Tel: (434)-609-0916

Please try to register with the on-line registration when there is a registration link, but if you have any problems, e-mail Kristen Curtis at Kristen.Curtis@bgav.org and let her know which course you plan to attend.

13-15 September 2023 – DSC in San Antonio, TX

29 Mar – 26 April 2023 – DSC Via Zoom

22-23 July 2022 – DSC in Chester, VA

21-25 Mar 2022 – DSC Via Zoom

15-19 Mar 2021 – DSC Via Zoom

10 Sep – 12 Nov 2020  DSC Via Zoom (Thursday evenings)

17-21 Aug 2020 – DSC Training of Trainers Via Zoom

18, 25 Jul 2020 – DSC Leadership Training Via Zoom

22-26 Jun 2020 – DSC Via Zoom

Team members are expected to complete the National Incident Management System (NIMS) training required of all disaster responders.  These free on-line courses are valuable in helping disaster responders understand the operational organization and language of disaster response.  All of the online training is intended to be “open book”.  This is accomplished by printing the test questions before taking a course.  All team members are required to take the FEMA IS-100 course and encouraged to take the 200, 300, 700 and 800 courses. Spiritual Care Team Leaders are expected to take the 100, 200, 300, 400, 700 and 800 courses.

• FEMA IS-100-ICS   http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is100b.asp
• FEMA IS-200-ICS   http://www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is200b.asp
• FEMA IS-700.a-NIMS   http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is700a.asp
• FEMA IS-800B-NRF   http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS800b.asp

Please note that these courses change and sometimes the website location is moved.  Please inform us if you have problems.

Team Leaders are required to take the FEMA ICS 300 Course and encouraged to take the FEMA ICS 400 Course. These are 3 day resident courses. There is no cost to attend. Taking these courses is also an expectation of the National VOAD standards for Emotional and Spiritual Care for leaders of Spiritual Care Teams. These courses are required for emergency personnel such as fire and police officers and other emergency managers. Taking these courses will help the Spiritual Care Team Leaders to better understand the workings of Emergency Coordinators during disasters. For the schedule and to sign up for these courses go to: https://www.preparingtexas.org/Schedule.aspx