Sheltering
Sheltering is the provision of life-sustaining services in a safe, sanitary, and secure environment for survivors who have been affected by disasters and people who evacuate before a disaster strikes. Sheltering includes:
IDENTIFYING FACILITIES
PROVIDING LIFE-SUSTAINING AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES
SUPPORTING THE CLOSING OF SHELTERS AND PLACEMENT OF SHELTER RESIDENTS INTO LONGER-TERM HOUSING SOLUTIONS
A shelter is an accessible facility set up to provide comfort, food, water, information, and sleeping accommodations to meet the immediate disaster-caused needs of individuals, families, and communities. Core services are provided in every shelter, and situational services are provided based on the needs of the clients.
All services are programmatically and physically accessible to all clients.
Congregate Shelter
Congregate shelters are the most common shelter type set up by Red Cross. They are generally established in large open settings that provide little to no individual privacy in facilities that normally serve other purposes, such as schools, churches, community centers, and armories.
Emergency Evacuation Shelter
An emergency evacuation shelter is an accessible facility set up in the event of a rapid evacuation or to provide a safe place to congregate while a major storm passes. Emergency evacuation shelters typically allow less space per person in order to maximize the number of clients that can be accommodated.
General Population
A general population shelter is an accessible facility set up to provide shelter for everyone in the
community, including individuals with access and functional needs, including those with
disabilities requiring supportive services to maintain independence and utilize the shelter and
its programs and services.
Medical shelter
Shelters that support individuals who have medical issues requiring care beyond the capability of a general population shelter. They are established by local, state, or tribal governments in coordination with public health and social services agencies. Relevant government jurisdictions may coordinate with Red Cross regarding support for these shelters.
Non-traditional Shelter
A non-traditional shelter is a location, generally in a large structure or open space, where a significantly large number of evacuees can take refuge and be sheltered for short or longer periods of time. These locations require an expanded amount and diversity of internal infrastructure and support services, which may include infrastructure operations such as logistics, utilities, security, and traffic control, as well as services such as laundry, medical care, and recovery support.
Non-congregate
Non-congregate shelters provide alternatives for incidents when conventional congregate sheltering methods are unavailable or overwhelmed, or longer term temporary sheltering is required. Typically, facilities that are used provide a higher level of privacy than conventional congregate shelters. Non-congregate shelters may include hotels, cruise ships, dormitories, converted buildings, staying with friends or family, or other facilities with private sleeping spaces but possibly shared bathroom and/or cooking facilities.
APPENDIX F – TRANSITION TO ALTERNATE SHELTERING (2018)
This document is unique in that no previous document has dealt, in detail, with the difficulties of transitioning the occupants of a congregate shelter to an appropriate housing solution. Authored by subject matter experts from throughout the national mass care community, and capturing the hard lessons learned from 2016 and 2017, the document outlines a locally-led, multi-agency approach to shelter transition.
The topics in the document include: explanation of a Shelter Transition Model; Multi-Agency Stakeholders & their Roles; the Shelter Transition Team; and Barriers to Shelter Transition. The Appendix also includes a Toolkit for local jurisdictions faced with shelter transition. The newly available Appendix F is a update to the existing Appendix F in the Multi-Agency Sheltering/Sheltering Support Plan Template.
SHELTER FIELD GUIDE
The purpose of the Shelter Field Guide is to provide sheltering best practices to faith-based groups, non-profit organizations, government partners, and private industry. The guide was co-developed by the American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency with support of a work group that included all levels of government.
The Shelter Field Guide can be used as a job aid and/or just in time training during a disaster operation.
- Download the Shelter Field Guide
- Shelter Field Guide FAQ and Ordering Instructions
- Shelter Field Guide Print Specifications
MULTI-AGENCY SHELTERING/SHELTERING SUPPORT PLAN TEMPLATE (MASPT) (OCTOBER 2014)
The purpose of the Multi-Agency Sheltering/Sheltering Support Plan Template (MASPT) is to supplement a jurisdiction’s Emergency Operations Plan and/or Mass Care Annex and is intended to provide guidance and suggested procedures for a jurisdiction to consider in the development of a sheltering plan that focuses on their role of managing and/or supporting sheltering activities.
HURRICANE EVACUATION SHELTER SELECTION STANDARDS (JUNE 2018)
To help ensure safe shelter for an evacuating public, an interagency group comprised of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Clemson University supported the development of the 1992 hurricane evacuation shelter selection standards. These standards reflect the application of technical data compiled from hurricane evacuation studies, other hazard information, and research findings related to wind loads and structural problems. The American Red Cross continues to coordinate with scientific sources to maintain and update these standards as new information becomes available.
A GUIDE TO OPERATING PUBLIC SHELTERS IN A RADIATION EMERGENCY (FEBRUARY 2015)
This document has been developed to assist with planning and response efforts related to shelter operations in a radiation emergency. The following chapters provide information and guidance about screening for radioactive contamination, decontamination, radiation monitoring, registration, health surveillance, and communications.
AMERICAN RED CROSS SHELTER FORMS
Multiple agencies manage shelters during a disaster, including Red Cross. Other agencies may be managing a shelter in cooperation with Red Cross, with or without receiving Red Cross support, or they may be managing a shelter completely independently. Partner Managed Shelters are managed by partners, following Red Cross principles, in cooperation with the Red Cross. The shelter materials posted here by the Red Cross are available for use by any agency managing a shelter.
https://nationalmasscarestrategy.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ARC_Shelter_Forms_08102016.zip
OPERATING A SHELTER SELF STUDY
The American Red Cross has created this Shelter Self Study Guide to assist partners and individuals interested in the rapid training of shelter workers. This is a large file (14 MB) that is packaged as a Zip file.
COMMONLY USED SHELTERING ITEMS Catalog (CUSI) (SEPTEMBER 2022)
This is a FEMA catalog of items of commonly used sheltering items, to include supplies, equipment Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and Consumable Medical Supplies (CME). Each item has a catalog number and description. Use of the CUSI Catalog # and description when requesting supplies for general population shelters can ensure that the correct item is ordered and delivered.
SHELTER GUIDANCE AID AND SHELTER STAFFING MATRIX (OCTOBER 2010)
This Aid assists emergency managers and those responsible for incident command in analyzing, planning and determining what details may need to be considered when deciding to use a facility for the purpose of sheltering a population affected by an emergency, incident or disaster. It is intended as a general mass care advisory document for sheltering operations from a multi-agency perspective.
NON-TRADITIONAL SHELTER CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS TEMPLATE (DECEMBER 2011)
This Concept of Operations template is intended to help local government officials and their response support organizations establish procedures for providing services in Non-Traditional Shelters to persons affected by a large-scale or catastrophic incident/ event or precautionary evacuation.
NON-TRADITIONAL SHELTER CASE STUDIES (DECEMBER 2011)
The purpose of this document is to capture pertinent information regarding the historical use of non-traditional sheltering. This compilation of information from previous disaster operations can be used to more effectively plan for and respond to future non-traditional shelter operations.
MEGA-SHELTER PLANNING GUIDE (OCTOBER 2010)
The Mega-Shelter Planning Guide provides the methodology to update procedures and practices to continually improve the service and operation of a mega-shelter. Knowing that each mega-shelter response is unique, this guide provides the tools to initiate the planning process while acknowledging the criteria necessary for successful operations.
FUNCTIONAL NEEDS SUPPORT SERVICES: GUIDANCE ON PLANNING FOR INTEGRATION OF FUNCTIONAL NEEDS SUPPORT SERVICES IN GENERAL POPULATION SHELTERS (NOVEMBER 2010)
This document provides guidance to assist emergency managers and shelter planners in understanding the requirements related to sheltering children and adults with functional support needs in general population shelters.
DISCHARGE PLANNING RESOURCES TOOLKIT FLORIDA
This online toolkit provides resources for Florida’s local officials, discharge planning team, special needs shelter consultants, shelter unit leaders, nurses or others who may be assigned to take the lead for or assist with discharge planning. Discharge planning is the process that facilitates moving a person from one level of care or health care setting to another, or from a temporary or shelter setting to the community for more permanent placement.
CATASTROPHIC HOUSING ANNEX TO THE 2012 FEDERAL INTERAGENCY RESPONSE PLAN — HURRICANE (August 2012)
This Annex describes a concept of operations implementing a paradigm shift for response and recovery operations which focuses on transitioning 500,000 eligible households from sheltering to temporary housing and support for their transition to sustainable housing following a catastrophic hurricane.
CASE STUDY: SHELTER TRANSITION TEAMS
Submitted by Ryan Logan, FEMA Region IV, Individual Assistance Mass Care Specialist
CASE STUDY: MULTI-AGENCY SHELTER ASSESSMENT SUPPORT PROGRAM (DECEMBER 2011)
Submitted by John Stewart, FEMA Region I, Voluntary Agency Liaison
