Volunteer Response Center (VRC)

Volunteer Response Centers act as registration and deployment points for volunteers, coordinating requests for assistance from affected residents with the skills and resources of voluntary groups. Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service (MCVS) works closely with the MS chapter of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (MSVOAD), MEMA, national disaster response organizations, and local groups and citizens to coordinate available resources on the group, matching skills and capacities with the people who need them most. 

When disaster strikes Mississippi, volunteers will be able to pre-register with MCVS to receive up-to-date information about when it is safe to respond and where and when volunteers are most needed. Volunteers should never self-deploy to a disaster-stricken area, and MCVS encourages those who want to prepare to volunteer after a disaster to seek training from a recognized VOAD member organization in advance.

In addition, all VRC members are encouraged to take the following trainings:

IS - 100.C:  Introduction to the Incident Command System, ICS 100

IS - 200.C   Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response 

IS - 700.B :  An Introduction to the National Incident Management System

IS - 706:      NIMS Intrastate Mutual Aid - An Introduction

Before you begin, you will need to apply for a Student Identification (SID) Number. 

The FEMA Student Identification (SID) number is a unique number generated and assigned to anyone who needs or is required to take training provided by a FEMA organization. Your FEMA SID uniquely identifies you throughout the FEMA organization and all of its agencies. The goal is for your FEMA SID to serve as your personal identification number instead of your Social Security Number (SSN) in support of FEMA’s effort to decrease/cease the use of SSN for identifying and tracking individuals.

Click HERE to apply for free.