Inclusive Emergency Preparedness: No One Left Behind

Disasters can disproportionately impact communities from diverse racial, ethnic, and tribal backgrounds, people with limited income, individuals with disabilities, older adults, and children. To ensure equitable preparedness, response, and recovery, it’s vital to consider everyone’s unique needs.

For Oregon VOAD’s partners, understanding and addressing these needs is crucial to fulfilling our collective mission of providing inclusive, effective disaster services. The National VOAD program emphasizes the importance of collaboration, communication, coordination, and cooperation (the 4 Cs), and these principles are at the core of ensuring that no one is left behind during disaster response and recovery efforts.

Special thanks to the Office of Minority Health Resource Center for sharing two essential Think Cultural Health toolkits that support this goal:

• Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Crisis Communication – This guide equips organizations with the tools to engage trusted messengers and create accessible, multilingual emergency messages, helping ensure that communication during crises is clear, trustworthy, and inclusive.
• Engaging Community Partners for Equitable Crisis Response – This toolkit provides strategies to build trust, collaborate with community leaders, and develop inclusive recovery plans, fostering stronger partnerships and community-driven solutions.

These resources directly align with National VOAD’s mission by helping VOAD partners better serve vulnerable populations, build trust in communities, and strengthen their capacity to respond effectively and equitably. For more resources, explore the Think Cultural Health Resource Library and join us in promoting inclusive preparedness and recovery.