Twelve Steps to Help Churches Prepare for a Disaster-part 3

Blogger is still malfunctioning, so we are using HTML which causes some loss of formatting. Part 1 in this series covered steps 1-4. Part 2 covered parts 5-8. This final post covers steps 9-12. If your church would like to know how to prepare, serve others or serve in a coordinated response contact us at hamiltondarnallllc@gmail.com to schedule training in the Portland area. 9. Have a safety officer or a resource sharing agreement with access to a safety officer to inform resources (volunteers) of any potential hazards, and procedures to prevent injury or illness including the proper use of personal protection equipment in compliance with OSHA or WISHA standards. 10. Have a public information officer (PIO) or a resource sharing agreement with access to a public information officer. The role of a PIO is to be the designated media spokesperson. There is no way to prepare for every conceivable disaster or event. 11. Offer encouragement, resources and accountability to help all church members to get out of debt and live mortgage free as soon as feasible, and to develop sufficient financial resilience to stay out of debt. 12. Build financial reserves at church to serve others more efficiently in the event of a disaster.

Resilience: Financial Education at Work. Part 1

Employers have a moral responsibilty to help employees develop financial resilience. How many employees, and co-workers are stifled with personal debt? This series will address three common situations that quickly affect employee resilience: personal debt,  physical or mental health problems including substance abuse and elder or child care costs. Here are some good guidelines to help individuals manage debt.

Always pay cash if possible unless the debt provides a clear and distinct tax benefit or leverages the employee into a better financial situation within 12 months. Avoid get rich schemes. If dept is already a problem, sharply cut discretionary expenses, and allocate the savings to pay off debt. Repay debts using one of two strategies: pay the debt with the highest interest rate or pay the smallest debt first. The rationale for the latter is to free up extra money to accelerate payment on another debt. Accelarate payments on one debt at a time to reduce the number of outstanding debts. Employers can provide access to publications about the financial cost of debt and resources or post simple signs. Here is one example:

Ten Financial Warning Signs
Payday or other high interest loans
Gambing and lottery tickets
Not tithing or giving to charity
Paying the minimum payment
High debt to income ratio
Borrowing money to pay off loans
Late or deferred payments
Running low on cash between paydays
No emergency fund
Not contributing toward retirement

It isn't enough to identify warning signs, employers may gather useful information to help educate employees, allow employees to organize and share ideas on cutting costs, avoiding common pitfalls, and explain what they are doing to overcome challenges. Invite speakers to come and talk about bartering, micro enterprise, money management, or lessons learned or how they achieved their financial goals.