N.Y. Guard continues to provide post-Hurricane Sandy help

By Master Sgt. Peter Towse, 42nd Infantry Division, New York Army National GuardJanuary 30, 2013

New York National Guard Continues Door-to-Door Wellness Checks in New York City as 2013 Begins
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. Alfaro Geovanny, with C Company, 642nd Aviation Support Battalion, New York Army National Guard, and McKineley Theobald, with the Americorps National Civilian Community Corps, talks with a local resident of Breezy Point, N.Y., Nov. 28, 2012. Wor... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
New York National Guard Continues Door-to-Door Wellness Checks in New York City as 2013 Begins
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers with the 719th Transportation Company prepare maps and teams prior to conducting wellness checks on Staten Island, N.Y., Dec. 6, 2012. The wellness checks are part of the New York Army National Guard's mission to help the citizens of New Yor... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
New York National Guard Continues Door-to-Door Wellness Checks in New York City as 2013 Begins
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Pvt. Vanessa Diaz, a Soldier with the 719th Transportation Company, New York Army National Guard, uses an electronic notebook to perform wellness checks on Staten Island, N.Y., Dec. 6, 2012. Diaz and other Soldiers of Team Sandy are going door to doo... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
New York National Guard Continues Door-to-Door Wellness Checks in New York City as 2013 Begins
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Pvt. Vanessa Diaz, a Soldier with the 719th Transportation Company, New York Army National Guard, uses an electronic notebook to perform wellness checks on Staten Island, N.Y., Dec. 6, 2012. Diaz and other Soldiers of Team Sandy are going door to doo... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

NEW YORK CITY (Dec. 31, 2012) -- Hurricane Sandy is two months over, but as 2013 opens the New York Army National Guard is still engaged in providing assistance to New Yorkers in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island who were affected by the storm.

Working with local, state and federal agencies, Soldiers assigned to the 280-member Team Sandy continue to go door to door checking on the current status of the citizens recovering from the devastation and collecting data to better help the Office of Emergency Management, or OEM. With so many homes ruined by the flooding of hurricane Sandy, the data is invaluable when sending resources out into the boroughs.

Citizen Soldiers go out in teams of two and knock on the doors of houses in a designated area. Each Soldier has a form and a series of questions to ask the homeowner.

"We started with the forms and collected data from the building managers," said 1st Lt. Malinda Vazquez, the planning officer, and a resident of Queens, N.Y. "Now, we are going door to door, checking on the well-being of each resident and making sure they are OK."

The completed forms are uploaded manually each day and give OEM the information to help those most in need.

"The forms limited our ability to move the data because the information had to be input manually, and would take three to five days for the information to reach to proper agency," said 2nd Lt. Anthony Migliore, the team Operations Officer, and resident of Smithtown, NY.

Because of the time necessary for the information to reach local and state agencies, a new system was developed to make the information gathering process more efficient. A new form, that is filled out electronically using an electronic tablet, can now can be sent to the database instantly and the information is automatically sent to the proper agency.

"Now that we have over 200 [electronic] tablets, the information is transmitted instantly to a centralized database managed by the Disaster Immediate Response Team," Migliore said. "As we continue the operation, we are able to configure the tablets to reflect more detailed information."

The New York National Guard has completed over 96,000 door-to-door wellness checks and continues to refine the process to knock on more doors in less time.

"We are working closely with the New York City police department, fire department, Americorps, FEMA, OEM and the Mayor's office to make our data collection more efficient," Migliore said. "Our maps are becoming more precise and the use of the electronic tables makes our information gathering easier."

The maps of each affected area are broken down by sectors and cells. Each sector is made up of an entire neighborhood and each cell is comprised of roughly five city blocks. Each tablet is tracked to record the progress of the Soldiers on the ground throughout the day and changes are made to increase the streets covered during the nightly meetings. The questions are also refined to make information gathering easier.

"We have developed eight teams to go door to door," said Master Sgt. Troy Haley, the noncommissioned officer for one of the teams, and a Troy, N.Y., resident. "With those teams, we are able to provide information instantly and get help to the people most affected by the hurricane. We also provide food, water, blankets and comfort kits as we go."

"We are here to serve our fellow citizens during this crisis," said Col. Mark Leahey, the commander of Joint Task Force Sandy, and a resident of Rochester, N.H. "We are here to let them know that they are not alone, and we will do everything we can to help them."

Related Links:

New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs

National Guard relieves suffering after Hurricane Sandy

Massive logistical effort marks N.Y. Guard response to Hurricane Sandy

N.Y. Guard to help Sandy victims over Thanksgiving holiday

Army.mil: U.S. Army Humanitarian Relief - Hurricanes

Army.mil: National Guard News

STAND-TO!: U.S. Army Support to Humanitarian Assistance and Relief Operations

American Red Cross