Learning Katrina’s Lesson: Community comes together to serve the vulnerable in emergencies

Public Health - Seattle & King County and United Way logos

KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON - On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, over 150 community leaders and human service providers will come together to strengthen how vulnerable residents are readied for and helped during a disaster. Katrina’s Lesson: Reach Our Vulnerable Residents NOW is one of the first conferences of its kind in King County to unite private and public agencies in this effort.

“If we learned anything from Katrina, it is that we need to know how to reach our vulnerable residents now if we’re going to meet their needs in a disaster,” said King County Executive Ron Sims. “King County is committed to building a resilient community where everyone is supported in a crisis and no one is left behind.”

“United Way of King County’s vision is that our community has a robust and trusted human services system that is responsive to current and emerging needs of all residents, particularly our most vulnerable residents,” said Jon Fine, CEO for United Way of King County.

Highlighting the need to prepare today, King County is home to a wide diversity of residents who may need additional assistance in an emergency:

10.8% of King County’s residents have limited English proficiency
4.8% of King County's residents are aged 75 and older
13% of King County's residents aged five or older report having some kind of disability
9.4% of King County's residents live below the federal poverty level

This conference is co-hosted by Public Health – Seattle & King County and United Way of King County, with additional support by the Nonprofit Assistance Center.

Note to Editors: Katrina’s Lesson: Reach Our Vulnerable Residents NOW is an invitation-only event that is open to the media on both days of the conference, Tuesday, October 24th and Wednesday, October 25th. All events will be held at the Dumas Bay Centre, 3200 SW Dash Point Road in Federal Way.

Tuesday morning’s agenda will begin at 8:30 a.m. with remarks by King County Executive Ron Sims, United Way of King County CEO Jon Fine and Dorothy Teeter, Public Health – Seattle & King County Interim Director and Health Officer. Ana-Marie Jones, Executive Director of Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters, will follow with a keynote presentation and lead a summit discussion on reaching vulnerable residents in a disaster.

Over the two days of the conference, service providers along with public and private agencies will:

Learn from nationally recognized expert Ana-Marie Jones, Executive Director of Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters (CARD), on how to build more resilient communities that respond to the entire community’s emergency response needs
Build connections between traditional first responders and community service providers
Share challenges, best practices and new ideas for reaching those with special need in emergencies

In partnership with traditional disaster relief agencies, Jones leads CARD in preparing local community groups and agencies to participate in coordinated response and recovery efforts for vulnerable and underserved populations.

“Rather than focusing on disaster during these two days, we'll work on preparing the whole community to prosper. Planning for a variety of hazards, including pandemic influenza, offers many great opportunities,” said Jones. “Trained, coordinated and united local agencies are the best and often the only support available for people with special needs in times of emergency."

King County has made a significant contribution to supporting vulnerable populations in a crisis through King County Executive Ron Sims’ Pandemic Flu Initiative. Through this support, Public Health has formed a Vulnerable Populations Action Team that is working with, learning from and supporting organizations that serve vulnerable populations.

In addition to co-hosting the Katrina’s Lesson conference, Public Health is using this funding to support an innovative grant program to community-based organizations for smaller preparedness projects. As a product of the conference, Public Health will work with community partners to provide additional outreach, trainings and support for local agencies to increase community capacity to prepare, respond and recover.

Providing effective and innovative health and disease prevention services for over 1.8 million residents and visitors of King County, Public Health – Seattle & King County works for safer and healthier communities for everyone, every day.

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