Two Things You Need to Know to Save Lives, Says the Church of Scientology

The Church of Scientology Nashville observed World Civil Defense Day this year with a CPR and first aid workshop.

In the United States each year:

• 475,000 children and adults die of cardiac arrest each year
• Of these, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests take place outside of the hospital setting
• And 90 percent are fatal.
• But when a bystander administers CPR, nearly 45 percent of victims survive.

“That is why it is so important for us to be prepared by knowing CPR and basic first aid, so we can help those we love,” says Julie Brinker, Community Affairs Coordinator for the Church of Scientology Nashville.

To help save lives, the Church celebrated World Civil Defense Day by hosting a community workshop where disaster response experts trained those attending on how to perform basic CPR and first aid.

“Everyone needs to know this skill, as you could be called upon at any time to use it to save someone’s life,” says Brinker.

World Civil Defense Day was established in 1990 by the International Civil Defense Organization (ICDO):

• To focus attention on the importance of civil protection,
• raise awareness of preparedness and prevention of accidents or disasters
• and that pay tribute to the efforts, sacrifices and accomplishments of all the national services responsible for the fight against disasters

The Church of Scientology sponsors the Scientology Volunteer Ministers (VMs) who mobilize in times of disaster.

“Volunteer Ministers perform a special function at disaster sites,” says Brinker. “We do have VMs who are trained as first responders, but our main role is to take care of those putting out the fires, searching for survivors or performing emergency medical care. When a fire is burning, the firefighters are often out on the fire lines 24 hours straight. In an earthquake, first responders work around the clock to find survivors before it’s too late. Volunteer Ministers do whatever these first responders need to perform their duties, whether it’s food and water, organizing their supplies or making sure their own families are cared for while they are out helping others.”

Brinker also described how VMs use Scientology assists to help first responders cope. Assist are techniques developed by humanitarian and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard that address the spiritual and emotional factors in stress and trauma. An example of this appeared in a recent article where a Volunteer Minister recalled what it was like to help at Ground Zero after 9/11:

“I remember finding a police officer sitting on the curb in Times Square the afternoon of 9/11, who was just staring off into space,” wrote the Volunteer Minister “I sat down next to him and without a word he turned to me and began to cry on my shoulder. I didn’t know what else to do, so I gave him a Locational Assist. He calmed down almost immediately and started looking at the people around him. He started speaking of his brothers that were missing and the people begging him to give them data about their own missing loved ones. After a while, he smiled and said, ‘you know, I bet some of them made it, they are just lost in the confusion, thank you.’ He hugged me, walked off and started helping the people around him.”

Equipped with effective technology to resolve virtually any difficulty, Volunteer Ministers live by the motto: “No matter the problem, something can be done about it.” Transcending all ethnic, cultural and religious boundaries, the Volunteer Ministers program is there for anyone in need of help.

I n creating the Volunteer Ministers program, L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “If one does not like the crime, cruelty, injustice and violence of this society, he can do something about it. He can become a Volunteer Minister and help civilize it, bring it conscience and kindness and love and freedom from travail by instilling into it trust, decency, honesty and tolerance.”

To learn more about the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, visit scientology-ccnashville.org.