When the heavy winds of June 29 knocked power lines out across the county for days, several churches stepped up to provide shelters for those without electricity in the hot days to follow.

Offering specialized training for such faith-based organizations as these churches during local disasters is the purpose of a day-long training offered by the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium with instructors from North Carolina Central University.

“The training class is preparing faith-based organizations to understand what their role can be in a disaster,” Mike Boster, director of the county’s Emergency Management Agency, said. “It can be a church, a food pantry operated by a church, any type of relief organization. Someone who does a ministry.”

Boster has taken training from North Central in the past and when he saw the response from the churches in June, he initiated the workshop.

Among the topics for the session will be understanding government’s responsibility in a disaster; using social networking; and developing a local emergency plan.

The workshop will be a combination of classroom lectures and interactive exercises with participants. It will be Oct. 27 at New Hope United Methodist Church in Proctorville. There is no fee for the classes and the only requirement is that all participants must be U.S. citizens. Classes run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Registration deadline is Oct. 13. A minimum of 20 must register for the classes to occur. To register contact Boster at 740-533-4375 or email at LAWCOOHEMA@gmail.com or call 740-533-4390.

“I look at this as a great opportunity to establish more collaboration with faith-based organizations,” Boster said. “Hopefully, it will initiate a relationship with faith-based organizations for them to understand how they fit into a disaster response, what their responsibility is and authority and where they fit into that.”