Posted on February 11, 2007

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Bay Area Groups Collaborate to Improve Disaster Preparedness

Following the release of a report exposing gaps in the disaster preparedness of area nonprofits, seven Bay Area disaster-response agencies have agreed to work together to improve the situation.

Based on interviews with more than fifty disaster response leaders in nine Bay Area counties and produced by the United Way of the Bay Area, the report, Ready or Not: Ensuring Bay Area Nonprofits Can Serve During Disaster (executive summary, 6 pages, PDF), identifies three major areas of concern: a large-scale disaster such as a major earthquake, existing response plans falling short, and insufficient standards and protocols. Over the next several months, United Way will expand the report to include detailed action plans for the nonprofit sector.

For the past two years, Bay Area disaster-response agencies have been meeting to address regional preparedness and are working to establish a comprehensive, cross-agency platform to be called San Francisco's Coordinated Assistance Network (SF CAN). The network, whose members include the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter, Catholic Charities CYO, the Salvation Army/Golden State Division, San Francisco Community Agencies Responding to Disaster, the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, UWBA, and the Volunteer Center, will focus on filling gaps in resources, recruiting and organizing nonprofits, and teaming with public sector first-responders to streamline response and recovery efforts.

"One thing we've learned from disasters across the country, including [Hurricane] Katrina," UWBA executive vice president Eric McDonnell told the San Francisco Chronicle, "is that the most vulnerable populations are the most hurt." Moreover, he said, that population is typically "served by nonprofits, which themselves are not always fully prepared."

“Top Disaster-Response Agencies Sign Unprecedented Pact to Prepare Bay Area.” United Way of the Bay Area Press Release 2/05/07.

Bulwa, Demian. “Report Alerts Nonprofits to Disaster Needs in Bay Area.” San Francisco Chronicle 2/06/07.

Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Location(s): California, San Francisco Bay Area

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