Talk about something great. The recent Resilience NW emergency/disaster preparedness seminar in Portland had something for everybody. It was one of those conferences where you learn so much about everything in the emergency preparedness world, no matter how smart you think you are. When it comes to this field of learning – after a seminar like this, you realize how much you didn’t know.
All the seminars where so good and well planned, that I wish there were 5 of me so I could go to all the different classes at the same time. From learning what really matters to deaf people in a natural disaster, to the evolution of social media, to learning how pets are treated in a natural disaster, this seminar had it all.
But one of the real show stoppers at the Resilience NW conf. was the Social Media in Disasters and Emergency Preparedness seminar put on by James Roddey www.readysetprepare.org an award winning writer, director, disaster preparedness/social media expert and all around nice guy, & Scott Reuter an expert instructor with the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center. They showed us how to set up a disaster command center, including how to get the word out with social media during a natural disaster. If you ever get a chance to see these two guys in action drop everything and go to one of their seminars, my pen couldn’t take notes fast enough to keep up with all the info they were dishing out. They talked about all the various social media sites that people are using to communicate in a natural disaster, and that communication by Twitter and text will be the only method of communication when everything else goes down. (Good to know)
Jane Croft has been involved with Healthcare & Information Technology for the hearing impaired for over 20 years, she had a two-part class, and talked about the history of deaf-communication in the United States. I didn’t know-what I didn’t know about this topic. She took it decade by decade to show how the deaf have been using new and advanced technologies to gain an equality with those of us who are lucky enough to have hearing. She said that deaf people really don’t want to stand out, they just want to become part of the main stream and not even think about being deaf. They just what to be on the same footing as everyone else.
Lori Chorpenning, an instructor at the University of Portland was on hand to give a lecture about the preparedness…or lack thereof, by Vulnerable Communities. Who are those with access and functional needs? And how does one prepare to evacuate them or help them to shelter-in-place? Those with disabilities, mental illness, non-English speakers, children, the elderly, homeless, low-income, pregnant women, prisoners and others are all part of this group. Did you know that 56% of all people with access and functional needs do NOT have a plan of what to do in case of a natural or manmade disaster?
Marilee Muzatko the medical equipment coordinator with Dove Lewis Animal Hospital was also there to talk about Pet Preparedness. We believe this will be the hot topic of the next decade, in the disaster preparedness field. What do you do with your pet or other animal when you leave your residence? Where do you go with your pet-is it a “pet friendly” place? Do you have enough food? cat litter? pet medicine? How do you transport your pet? It’s funny but you just get started thinking about you and your family & friends in a disaster. But then, you can’t forget about your pet’s needs too.
As I attended all these classes I tried to relate all the information I was learning back to the GO|STAY|KIT. How we could make the Kit better? How can we reach more people? Who should we be talking to? Are there grants available to purchase the GO|STAY|KIT for others? What is the best way to get the word out about this marvelous new invention. Think of it…a Kit with waterproof pages that holds all your information, safe and in one place, complete with shelter wristbands, door hangers, Red Cross entry forms, etc. etc. etc. This is quite a cost-effective, unique and functional product in the realm of emergency preparedness. It deserves to be seen.
