In the first twelve hours after Hurricane Katrina made landfall, several of us were in Governor Barbour’s office fielding questions about how we would cope with this unthinkable disaster unfolding before us.

“How are we going to handle this? How can we possibly recover from this?” he asked. I told him, “Our citizens. You can bet right now that our citizens, the people in our communities and neighborhoods, are out doing what they do best – helping each other, working together to get things back to normal.” Katrina is by far the worst natural disaster we have experienced. I remember floating in a Jon boat in 6 feet of water along side fire fighters and law enforcement officials evacuating elderly citizens from a high rise apartment. Right beside us….citizen volunteers out in force helping in any way they could. In some of the camp grounds we visited, there were already Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers from around the region providing logistical resources to the victims and the professional rescuers. In my 30 years in public safety, every time there is a disaster, the first boots on the ground are the citizens – the volunteers.

In the Mid-South, we are acutely aware of our proximity to the New Madrid fault with the strong possibility that we will experience a deadly earthquake. The recent catastrophic quakes in Haiti and Chile remind us that everyone is vulnerable. And since May 2010, we continue to build back our neighborhoods and roads destroyed by the historic flooding in Shelby County.

However, during emergencies, we are fortunate to have a strong volunteer spirit…a willingness to help neighbors. In particular, our faith-based community steps up every time disaster strikes by offering shelter, food, and spiritual care for evacuees and victims. Keep in mind that in any disaster, volunteers will want to help. When properly trained and kept involved in their community disaster plans, they become an invaluable resource – a tremendous value added. It becomes a partnership. I believe there is no stronger partnership than that between government and our citizens in the neighborhoods.