Youth volunteers prepare for simulation shelter drill The American Red Cross Jersey Coast Chapter youth volunteers of Monmouth and Ocean counties are preparing to participate in a shelter simulation March 16 that will train them to act as if a real disaster is occurring and perform all functions that a real shelter would during a disaster. The young adults, ages 11 to 17, must attend a disaster course to learn how to respond to a disaster and run a shelter. A shelter manager will be appointed, and every individual will act out a certain segment of the shelter operation, according to a press release from the chapter. The volunteers will cover all functions of an actual shelter such as mass feeding, mental health services, public affairs and health services. Adult volunteers will come in to act as victims, each with a different problem that must be solved by the youth running the shelter. The shelter simulation will take place starting at 4 p.m., March 16, and end at 9 a.m.,March 17. The partnership of youth and the American Red Cross began with the founding of the Junior Red Cross in 1917. According to the chapter's release, the goal of the youth program is to provide young people with meaningful opportunities for education, training, and volunteer/community service so that they remain a part of the Red Cross family throughout their lives. Young people up to age 24 make up 35 percent of all Red Cross volunteers.