Safety Requirements

All participants should wear work boots or sturdy tennis shoes while at worksites. Sandals or any open-toe shoes are not permitted.

All participants are required to wear safety eye goggles while scraping paint and painting. Paint in your eyes, especially if you wear contacts, is very painful. To avoid dust, facemasks should be worn.

Workcampers are permitted to use power washers and drills but not power saws. Only designated “troubleshooters” or experienced adults are permitted to use power saws.

Catholic HEART Workcamp does not do roof repair. At no time should a Workcamp participant be up on a roof.

All Workcamp participants should wear sunscreen and drink plenty of water while at their worksite.

Ladder safety is very important. One person should always be the ‘spotter’ and hold the ladder for the person who is standing or climbing on the ladder. Make sure the ladder you are working on is on a stable surface.

• For a comprehensive understanding of ladder safety, please review the following document: Ladder Safety.

Before you begin work each day, inspect your work area for hazardous working conditions and be aware of broken glass, protruding nails, low electrical lines, insect nests, etc. Clean up problem areas before starting your work. If a work area appears unsafe (drug needles, black mold, insect infestation, etc.), the adult leader must immediately contact the camp manager. The team will be moved immediately if CHWC feels they are in any kind of danger.

In the unlikely event that a team feels threatened because of a resident’s behavior or neighborhood activity, they should bring the situation to the camp manager’s attention, and an evaluation will be made on whether or not the team should continue to work at this site. If a team member sees any kind of dangerous weapon (firearms, knives, tasers, etc.), the adult leader should immediately contact the camp manager. The team will be moved immediately if CHWC feels they are in any kind of danger.