Churches of Scientology Disaster Response team leaders from seven states gathered at Church of Scientology Nashville for an annual conference on disaster response.

The Church of Scientology Nashville hosted a Disaster Response Conference led by Sue Taylor and Joava Good, director and deputy director of the National Churches of Scientology Disaster Response. The weekend conference updated team leaders from seven states on recent developments in the field.

The conference was scheduled in advance of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) Conference, held this year in Nashville. VOAD was established as an “association of organizations that mitigate and alleviate the impact of disasters, provides a forum promoting cooperation, communication, coordination and collaboration, and fosters more effective delivery of services to communities affected by disaster.” The National VOAD coalition is comprised of more than 100 organizations including national members, state VOADs and local or regional VOADs.

The Churches of Scientology Disaster Response participates in National VOAD and its members are Scientology Volunteer Ministers.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers respond to disasters whenever they occur. Sponsored by local Scientology Churches, teams of volunteers provide backup to emergency personnel responding to fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural and man-made disasters. They work in shelters, package and distribute food, and help people recover through the use of Scientology assists—techniques developed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that provide relief from spiritual and emotional trauma.

Whether serving in their communities or on the other side of the world, the motto of the Scientology Volunteer Minister is “Something can be done about it.” The program, created by Mr. Hubbard in the mid 1970s, is sponsored by Church of Scientology International as a religious social service and constitutes one of the world’s largest independent relief forces.

The Volunteer Minister “helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.”

A global network of Volunteer Ministers mobilizes in times of manmade and natural disasters, For more information, visit volunteerministers.org.