By a desert aid volunteer
No More Deaths began as a fully volunteer-run
organization, but over the years it has evolved and grown.
Thanks to the support of our donors we now provide
stipends for some volunteers and have staff positions.
However, most of the day-to-day work in the desert remains
unpaid.
People come from all over the world to support our work,
we have a base of aid workers in Southern Arizona and over
the past 21 years over 1000 people have joined us to
provide humanitarian aid in the borderlands.
For out-of-town volunteers, we offer housing, travel, and
food stipends, as well as access to our gear-lending library.
BIPOC volunteers are eligible for additional financial
support. Volunteers participate in initial in-town training
and field training before beginning their time with us. After
volunteers have spent time with us in the field, they can
become desert aid working group members where they
participate in decision-making and have access to more
trainings as well as stipends.
The work our volunteers and staff do is dynamic and
challenging, most days we have at least one team of 2-4
people driving a truck to remote areas to leave life-saving
supplies in the desert. During these trips they may come in
contact with people who are lost, injured, and in distress,
they may find somebody who has passed away. Because of
this, our training does not stop after the first week.
Volunteers and staff continuously mentor each other,
teaching new skills and coordinating trainings to better
respond to the needs of people crossing the border. Over
the past few years these are some of the trainings volunteers
and staff have attended:
Wilderness First Aid, Wilderness First Responder: In
partnership with numerous borderlands humanitarian aid
groups and with financial support from Mutual Aid Disaster
Relief and other humanitarian aid organizations, volunteers
became certified Wilderness First Aid providers and
Wilderness First Responders, free of charge. The trainings
were put on by Larkspur Rescue and NOLS. Instructorswere able to contextualize course content for the particular
environments volunteers work in.
Criminalization of Humanitarian Aid and Protocols: We
maintain that humanitarian aid is never a crime, and work
within our protocols, which have been reviewed by legal
counsel. However, we also recognize that during the current
administration, like the last Trump presidency, the targeting
of migrant communities will expand and include those who
stand in solidarity with them. Volunteers reviewed the
criminal charges that Scott Warren and others in the
organization have faced over the years and learned more
about our Foundations of Borderland Humanitarian Relief
(full document available on our website) and our desert aid
protocols. These documents are based on the Red Cross
Code of Conduct and a human rights framework.
Chainsaw Safety: Over the winter No More Deaths, along
with local Samaritans chapters and Humane Borders,
supported a camp along the border wall where asylum
seekers would often have to wait for hours or overnight to
be picked up by Border Patrol. NMD’s main contribution
was firewood. We hosted a chainsaw safety course for
volunteers to learn how to cut firewood down to size. The
course was put on by volunteers who work as arborists and
wildland firefighters.
Media Interviews and Public Presentation: The No More
Deaths’ Media Coordinators put on a training for volunteers
and staff to learn about No More Deaths talking points and
media strategy, as well as reviewing materials made for
public presentations and outreach.
Do you have a skill you would be willing to share with our
volunteers? Please reach out!
Possible topics include wilderness medicine, know your
rights, meeting facilitation, search and rescue/recovery,
vehicle maintenance, overland navigation, conflict
mediation, and many more! Remote and Southern Arizona
opportunities are appreciated.