By Elena Siddall
Through experience with a number of churches, schools, and community groups, I’ve found that the most effective way to engage a targeted population is face to face.
My colleague, Alvina Bey Bennett-a public health nurse, and I collaborated to form We Prepare America, an organization that focuses on the citizen and the impact of a disaster on the individual and the community. We used FEMA material and have designed workshops to be highly adaptive to time constraints, but to convey at the very least, the need to:
1) have an emergency kit
2) have appropriate fundamental information as to actions related to hazards
3) have a family plan of post event location and actions of family members
We have trademarked KIP™, the acronym of the most basic elements of the universally accepted Emergency Preparedness Plan.
While we recognize the fact that we cannot educate each individual person, we can begin with groups. This is the ripple effect- from the bottom up. The prepared individual is an asset to the community; conversely, the unprepared citizen is a burden on the already strained Emergency Management System’s human, material and financial resources. The unprepared citizen is the weakest link in the chain, thus compromising the whole system.
The prepared citizen is a community resource.
And should be viewed as such by local officials, elected and appointed. In practice, this is an embraced philosophy-once prepared individually and within one’s the family, individual efforts can be extended to volunteer beyond, but need to be actually welcomed by the authorities.
Our personal experience has shown that many volunteers are trained, but not utilized.
The two recent tragic events, of the terrorist attack of 9/11 and Katrina, a natural disaster of Biblical proportions, have launched series of Congressional hearings, intense attention from the media and attempts to identify “Lessons Learned”.
Billions of tax dollars, as well as donations from the private sector have, to date, resulted in few meaningful actions, (except from the religious and non-profit community, providing the bulk of comfort care).
A large percentage of the population remains woefully unprepared. The two mentioned events underscore the fact that the government cannot protect everyone, everywhere. The citizen must understand that in a disaster, one is on his own, until help arrives. Calling 911 may be futile. This comes as a shock to most individuals.
Research
Research, mostly via surveys in the field of Emergency Management is considerable and unfortunately repetitive. A great deal of the published material deals with methodology of the studies. A wealth of information is related to examining the barriers of citizen decision to prepare with KIP Folks simply have not taken the recommended steps because of:
1) lack of importance that individuals place on preparedness
2) lack of time
3) lack of information
Simply addressing the last factor is ineffective unless the information is given in connection to convincing citizens that the process is very important and easy.
The best motivator for taking action is the perception of imminent threat. We all know the phenomenon of the storming of the grocery stores if a storm is expected. KIP™ is very much like insurance. It is too late to remember the lapsed insurance premium as the barn is on fire. It is too late to begin searching for the flash-light when the power goes out. It may not prevent the disaster, but being prepared to survive the disaster may go a long way to reduce panic, and save lives.
The Emergency Kit
In giving instruction for an emergency kit, a checklist is the best received method, taking into consideration individual needs, individual preferences geographic location, season of the year. Depending on economic factors, a kit can be created at one time or added to over a period of time, the former being preferable. Water, power snacks, flash-light and battery operated radios medicines and first aid are standard items for the 3-day kit. A visual demonstration, with a brief explanation for the inclusion of each item of the contents is helpful –and reinforces the simplicity and ease of the process.
Information
Information is better received if provided by local sources that are known and trusted, such as first responders. While most citizens depend on TV for emergency information, a battery operated radio is the crucial source of information in case of power outage.
The public must be educated to understand the common vocabulary of Emergency Management. The very useful (if universally understood) color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System is the quickest way to inform the public of the level of danger. Established in March 2002, it is a tool used to describe threat conditions for a possible terrorist attack.
Hurricanes are characterized by number to indicate severity of expected danger. CDC has recently adopted a numerical system in categorizing pandemic threat. The government site for public information is Ready.gov (add hyperlink www.ready.gov) The site has undergone numerous improvements; however remains an unknown source to the majority of individuals.
Plan
Does every family member know where to re-group after the disastrous event? Does every member have emergency contact information? Are all crucial documents in a safe, accessible place?
The three-pronged Emergency Preparedness Plan is understandable and based on common sense. It does not require having high skills. and is based on common sense.
In general, people trust experts over officials. The 2002 Robert Wood Johnson Study found that the public would seek information in case of a bioterrorist attack from a doctor (74%), local hospital (65%), the local Red Cross (55%) and the local health department (51%). Only 25% would trust the media. 37% would trust the head of the DHS.
Events of Katrina tarnished the image and trust that the public has in the government’s ability to respond to a disaster.
However numerous post-Katrina studies indicate no increase in the level of citizen preparedness. Several studies have been singled out for their significance because they are based on pre and post Katrina studies.
- National Center for Disaster Preparedness- Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health conducted an annual survey in July 2005 –Where American Public Stands on Terrorism and Preparedness Four Years after September 11. A follow-up study was conducted in October 2005. One crucial finding was that the percentage of family emergency plan having the three components (KIP) increased by only 1 percentage point.
- Center for Excellence in Government/American Red Cross- developed a Public Readiness Index
- Macro International Inc (ORC Macro)- conducted a survey in 2003 and mid-October 2005 to measure citizens levels of perceived and actual preparedness, reasons for and barriers to preparedness.
- Center for Catastrophe Preparedness and Response- New York University. The survey of basic preparedness or lack of and measured confidence in state, local and Federal government and selected non-profits organizations. The post Katrina findings revealed that non-profit organizations did not suffer the loss of trust as did governmental agencies.
- National Organization on Disability.
- Katrina Evacuee Survey –Washington Post, Kaiser Foundation and Harvard University cast light on levels on preparedness on “vulnerable populations” and in the case of the Evacuees survey, examined perceived threat of Katrina and readiness and willingness to evacuate.
A significant observation made by Macro Inc. is that very few studies investigated citizens’ reliance on organizations such as their schools, workplace, and local faith-based or community-based organizations. Only the 2003 American Red Cross study examined this area, indicating a hopeful sign that 45% of parents received disaster information from their child’s school and that 55% received formal information or training from their employers.
In our research, we found the most interesting and relevant study to be REDEFINING READINESS: Terrorism Planning Through the Eyes of the Public. In September 2004, the Center for the Advancement of Collaborative Strategies in Health, of The New York Academy of Medicine released a study report titled REDEFINING READINESS. Funding came from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, to ask questions about plans developed by the government in the wake of 9/11.
Billions of dollars to strengthen the capacity of government agencies and private-sector organizations at local, state and Federal levels to respond to terrorist attacks and other emergencies have been invested.
- Are we getting as much as can be expected from the investment?
- Will the plans that are being developed work as expected?
- Will they protect as many citizens as possible?
Good questions. And the short answer is NO. The initial research results were that the most valuable resource was described as “the common-sense knowledge of American people and their strong interest in contributing that knowledge to community and organizational preparedness planning”. The RR study documents that terrorism response plans developed without public input, place millions of citizens unnecessarily at risk.
The Center embarked on an 18 month- long study of four communities across the country to demonstrate how terrorism/emergency response plans can be improved. These local demonstration projects can serve as national models.
The communities, representing diverse urban, suburban and rural selected (by competition) are:
- The City of Carlsbad and South Eddy County, New Mexico
- Humboldt Park section in Chicago, Illinois
- Eastside neighborhood in Savannah, Georgia
- Choctaw, McCurtain and Pushmatah Counties in Oklahoma
The study ended January 31, 2007. We are looking forward to reading the results.
About the Authors
Together, Elena Siddall and Alvina Bey-Bennett have more than 70 years experience in child welfare, medical social work, public health, as well as work in the non-profit sector as workers and volunteers, locally, nationally and internationally.
Last month, Siddall and Bennett presented at AMU’s Homeland Security Symposium – The Ripple Effect at the National Press Club.
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