Mass Care and Sheltering

Providing immediate shelter, basic first aid, bulk distribution of needed items, food, water and a place to sleep for residents displaced from their home is an important role of emergency management but it is also one of the most complicated issues we face.  While cost should not be a determining factor in something as important as sheltering and caring for our residents, a proper shelter system is extremely expensive and must be carefully planned.

Historically, during even long-term disasters such as the ice storm of 2008, Royalston’s residents simply will not abandon their home and come to a shelter.  That is a very positive statement about the resilience of our citizens it is also a cautionary statement about “over building” a shelter system that may never see a single occupant.

Today’s laws and regulation also place a lot of restrictions on what a shelter must provide.  Many people will not leave their home and enter a shelter without their cherished pets and these pets need not just be small lap dogs so, a shelter plan must include housing for pets either in or very close to the shelter for people.  Residents with issues such as autism must be cared for according to their needs which may necessitate separate quiet rooms for these individuals.  A complete shelter system must provide a comfortable place for all residents and meet all of their legal and immediate needs.

Currently there are no viable physical structures available to the town that can serve as a shelter.  The Royalston Community School, part of the Athol-Royalston Regional School District, has space, a kitchen and a shower but it does not have any form of backup electrical power.  Almost all emergencies likely to occur in Royalston will also involve the loss of power.

REMA, the Royalston Building Committee, and the Royalston Select Board continue to look for ways to meet the need to provide a shelter for residents.  The work just beginning to renovate the Raymond School is being analyzed regularly to see if that design could include space for a temporary shelter.