Private Sector
Advisory
FEMA Unveils National
Strategy to Strengthen Youth Preparedness
Ad Council, FEMA and
Disney launch “Big
Hero 6” PSAs to Encourage Emergency Preparedness for Kids
WASHINGTON -- Today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
announced a new strategy to educate young people about disaster prevention,
protection, mitigation, response and recovery. The National
Strategy for Youth Preparedness Education: Empowering, Educating and Building
Resilience (National Strategy) couples attention on emergency and
disaster preparedness with community action that focuses specifically on youth
readiness for disasters and related events. The National Strategy was developed
in partnership with the American Red Cross and the U.S. Department of
Education, and more than 25 organizations have affirmed their support.
Research shows that it is important to educate and empower young people to
prepare for disasters. A 2010 study from Oregon State University showed that 14
percent of children and teens had experienced a disaster during their lifetime,
and four percent had been in a disaster within the past year. Of those who had
experience with disaster, a quarter reported experiencing more than one.
Recognizing that children have the ability to play an important role in preparing
themselves, their families, and their communities for a disaster, Disney, the
Ad Council and FEMA are releasing new Public
Service Advertisements (PSAs) as an extension of the Ready campaign. These
new PSAs highlight several steps that kids can take to prepare for emergencies:
Make a Plan, Build a Kit and Know The Facts. The new English and Spanish ads
feature leading characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ upcoming film “Big
Hero 6,” and they encourage viewers to visit Ready.gov/Kids
to learn how to prepare for emergencies.
“Children who learn about emergency preparedness experience less anxiety
during an actual emergency or disaster,” FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate said.
“This National Strategy will encourage communities and organizations to give
children and their families the information they need to prepare for
disasters.”
“When it comes to emergency preparedness, we know that communication and
planning in advance are critical,” Ad Council President and CEO Peggy Conlon
said. “Research has shown that children can play an important role in creating
family emergency plans, which is why this extension of our longstanding
campaign with FEMA incorporates wonderfully entertaining Disney characters that
will both entertain and educate children.”
“Young people can do amazing things when given the chance,” said Richard
Reed, senior vice president of Disaster Cycle Services at the American Red
Cross. “Just watch an entire school full of kids evacuate in a couple of
minutes for a fire drill, or listen to the story of the young man who gave his
birthday money to buy smoke alarms for his community. At the Red Cross, we’re
just delighted to stand with this coalition to help prepare young people and
their families.”
The National Strategy presents nine priority steps to further youth
preparedness education including: building partnerships to enhance, increase
and implement youth preparedness learning programs; connecting young people
with their families, communities, first responders and other youth; and
increasing school preparedness. More information about these steps--as well as
the national organizations that have affirmed their support--is available under
the National Strategy tab in the FEMA Youth Technical Assistance Center at www.ready.gov/youth-preparedness.
More information about emergency preparedness is available at www.ready.gov.
My hope is that those involved in emergency management use this information to hone their outreach to those who need information and support most and that emergency plans are developed based on the actual needs of people living in their jurisdictions. Ultimately, I would like to see a higher level of community engagement on these issues by local government to better understand people's needs. Local government provides services that are meant to serve its constituents. Just as business do, local government better understand their markets so they can deliver relevant, meaningful products and services.
The interesting thing about Hurricane Katrina is that 33% of the population did not receive the message about evacuation or they did not receive enough information to take any action. This is not because they had a lack of preparedness, but because emergency managers did not consider the makeup of the population during their planning for how emergency information is disseminated to the community. There is also the reality of limited resources that prevented some from being able to do what was being asked of them. No amount of individual preparedness would have helped socially isolated people with disabilities, older adults, and those with medical illnesses who were reliant upon external services that were no longer available.
My point is that preparedness is a shared responsibility and our society is more complex than we oftentimes consider in emergency planning. Developing inclusive approaches and plans is not easy, but nothing worth achieving is.