"The American Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have worked together to develop the National Shelter System (NSS). Under auspices of the National Response Plan, the American Red Cross is responsible for supporting Emergency Function #6 - Mass Care, Housing and Human Services, with an emphasis on Mass Care."
"The National Shelter System (NSS) is a comprehensive web-based, data system created to support agencies (government and non-government) responsible for elements of shelter management. The NSS allows users to identify, track, analyze, and report on shelter data in a consistent and reliable manner. The NSS supports Emergency Support Function (ESF 6) - Mass Care, Housing, and Human Services."
"FEMA plays a key role by supporting state and local agencies in the implementation of a coordinated, nationwide shelter system for managing information about shelter facilities, capacity, and population counts. The NSS, a premiere example of collaborative partnership, between the American Red Cross and FEMA, has produced a methodology to address one of the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina: An expectation for a single nationwide cohesive mass care system. NSS data will assist ESF 6 in developing strategies to support state and local governmental agencies in meeting the obligation to ensure prompt and effective mass care service delivery, especially during mass evacuations by:
Providing a coordinated system for government and non-governmental agencies to manage shelter
facility data.
Providing a standardized tool to establish baseline shelter data, vital for comprehensive shelter
planning.
Providing local agencies with a tool to manage the shelter process through all shelter management
phases: planning, alert, stand-by, opening and closure.
Determining the potential number of evacuees that can be sheltered in a specific locale.
Providing from the onset of any disaster incident the capability for informed shelter
decision-making, contribute to the declaration process and speed recovery efforts."