{slide=Hellenic Rescue Team Attica in a One Sentence|grey}
HRT Attica is a community center, purely consisted by volunteers that offer their time, expertise, knowledge and their personal powers and means in order to assist and help fellow citizens in case of an emergency.
{slide=Is it an independent organization? Non-Profit? How is it managed?|grey}
HRT Attica is an independent, non-profit organization with its own articles of association (Athens Prime Court #22972/2000). The boards of directors consisted only by team members, is elected every two years from our team members. Our organization HRT Attica is a member of the General Secretariat for Civil Protection network, registration number 12/2001
{slide=In which incidents HRTA activates its SAR procedures? |grey}
- In case of a mass destruction after an earthquake, flood, airplane crash
- Search and Rescue on the Mountains, forests, agriculture fields.
- Search and Rescue at Sea, coastline, lakes and rivers.
{slide=Where can we find you?|grey}
Our office (10-12 Agonaridou str, Neos Kosmos) and our meeting location is open every Wednesday from 20:00 till 22:00. During these hours someone could stop over collect all information and receive answers to any questions regarding our organization, or give us a call (+30) 210-3613320. Else please try our cell phone (+30) 694-6690290. Our offices are nearby the Metro & Tram station “Neos Kosmos” (red line).
{slide=What are you doing during Wednesdays at the offices?|grey}
Our Wednesday gatherings have numerous characters. It is an excellent excuse to hang out, discuss among friends and a great opportunity to enrich our knowledge in the field of Search and Rescue with new techniques. It is the evening that most of the new members visit us and receive a welcome introduction, so as to learn more about our organization. Many Wednesday evenings, special interesting presentations are scheduled and are free to attend for anyone.
{slide=Is special training required?|grey}
Training is necessary for almost all things in life. An annual schedule with specific dates for training, exercises, and other activities is posted and constantly gets updated in our online Forum. Participation means additional knowledge and experiences, making our members more useful during a real life incident. Being a Rescuer among many other things requires First Aid knowledge. We schedule First Aid certified training seminars, Basic and Advanced, all year around.
{slide=Being a team member, means always available when needed?|grey}
Since our team members are solely volunteers it is unlikely also to be always available. The time you devote for this team, contributes directly to his/hers readiness to perform during an incident. Nonetheless during an incident call (SMS), it is necessary for all members to respond with their availability or weakness to participate.
{slide=Being 55 years old, makes me obsolete?|grey}
There are no age constraints in our team; the only requirement is the willingness to offer. Furthermore there are multiple ways for someone to assist and help a volunteer organization without the need to “climb the mountains”. We always need responsible active people to assist our organization in other activities.
{slide=How much time is required for the team?|grey}
The correct thing is to ask yourself “how much time you are willing to offer for this cause?” Every year multiple activities are being scheduled and take place, regarding: training seminars, exercises, drills, participation as a rescue/Para-medic team in athletic events, and thankfully few non-scheduled/real life Search And Rescue incidents. But that’s why we train for. None of the above is mandatory for our team members. It all depends on the person and how much she/he wishes to learn and be capable and ready to offer during a real situation. The more you participate the readier you get.
{slide=Other means of communication?|grey}
Our Internal forum is the best information center for our members. It is real time updated, and it is the way to share and communicate information and opinions regarding the Search and Rescue techniques, incidents and the “life” of our very own team.
{slide=Do I need my own equipment?|grey}
You need your “personal” equipment, different: for the mountain/ for water/for mass destruction. HRT Attica provides the team equipment (rescue equipment, ropes, paramedic equipment, stretchers, VHF/UHF radios, etc.), that gets exploited during training, exercises and real incidents.
{slide=Where are the funds from?|grey}
Funds of our organization are mainly from the annual memberships of our team members. There are few private donations, and occasionally we organize a raffle, annual calendars, or an event that create some income for our team. that. It is worth to mention that our annual budget is so tight that we barely afford to pay the monthly rental for our basement office space in Neos Kosmos.
{slide=Where are the available funds spend?|grey}
Our funds are mainly available for:
- Operating Expenses
- Training Expenses
- Purchasing new equipment
- Maintenance of equipment
- Incident expenses (gas and tolls)
{/slides}
