With yet another major storm headed into the Gulf, disaster relief seems to be a topic worthy of continued discussion. Here is a little more detail about my original post from JAN2008. I posted it over in the Tech Talk thread but was told it was out of scope for tonight's event.
When considering the resources required for maximum impact, here are two significant gaps.
1. The ability to locate and assess the condition of leaders and members who may have evacuated the affected area.
- Create a phone number (something memorable such as 1-800-LDS-FIND) where leaders and members could report their current location, condition, and temporary contact information.
- Personal information would be received but not given, so no privacy concerns.
- MLS records would not be changed, so no need to validate information. This is just a temporary database during relief efforts.
- Leaders and members could be given a brief message from Church leaders giving basic instruction.
- Create a web page (on www.lds.org) as an alternative to the phone number.
- Members who evacuate often have access to the Internet, even from shelters.
- This seems like a less expensive option than a call center.
- Members must be educated long in advance about this phone number and web site, and told they are expected to contact the Church when they evacuate during a disaster.
- This would be similar to the service provided by the American Red Cross https://disastersafe.redcross.org/
2. The ability for volunteers, who are often unfamiliar with the area, to locate the three primary targets (A. The home of each Church member. B. Other specific addresses, such as homes of first responders, individuals with special priority needs, local infrastructure, etc. C. Neighborhoods or other general areas of focus.)
of the relief efforts.
- Enable more reliable mapping of member homes.
- A validation step before an address is input into MLS that makes sure the address can be mapped by off-the-shelf mapping software.
- If not map-able, the address would be rejected by MLS and ward clerks instructed to get accurate information.
- If the address maps into a different unit’s boundaries, the record would be sent to the appropriate unit, instead.
- Church-provided software that would automatically generate a map to (and, perhaps driving directions from the ward building) to each member’s home.
- This would be useful outside of disasters, for new move-ins, home teaching assignments, missionary exchanges, etc.
- Enable an MLS report that would automatically generate a simple Work Order Form (we have a template you could use) for each member, along with map coordinates that refer to either Church-provided maps or commercially available maps.
---------
Does that address the concerns raised by earlier posters? The communication is all one-way, from member to database. Getting a report from the database could be a manual process of bishop calling CHQ, but that would be a tiny, tiny effort compared to the manhours we spend tracking down members one at a time. Anybody spamming the system would simply take up database space and could be easily sorted out of the final report. There would be little benefit to people spoofing as members, and (like the Red Cross) we could require that the member put in address and phone number to match MLS. (NO, let's not require membership or ordination or other data to confirm identity.)
Longest. Post. Ever. Sorry about that. Thanks for listening. Keep the Gulf in your prayers this week.