Clackamas County MRC Disaster Sanitation Outreach

This year, as part of the Tri-County Regional MRC in the Portland/Metro area, the Clackamas County Medical Reserve Corps Unit was a co-recipient of funding to support outreach and education in Disaster Sanitation. Thanks to the foundation previously built by the Regional Disaster Preparedness Organization (RDPO) and the creative efforts of Nancy Flores Sanchez from Washington County Medical Reserve Corps, English and Spanish language videos were developed for this project for the training and use by interested volunteers as well as the general public.

Clackamas County MRC’s small but mighty team of volunteers took the training and then participated in a variety of events to educate the public about the Twin Bucket System. These knowledgeable volunteers - including Sarah Hurth, Kathryn Rawley, Dr. Merilee Karr, and Lori Kelly - shared their time and expertise at events and celebrations including Latino Fest, , the Gladstone Festival, the Ukrainian Festival, Indigenous Peoples Day and the Clackamas County Fair. Through their efforts more than 500 people learned about emergency hygiene and were fortunate enough to receive snap-on toilet seat lids and bucket stickers purchased through an MRC STTRONG Grant. We owe huge thanks to those who stepped up and served in this important work.

Written by: Mary Ellen Winterhalter