Resources Not to Be Overlooked
By Catherine L. Feinman
The term “whole community” is frequently used
in preparedness materials and discussions.
In practice, though, how often is the whole
community represented and all community resources
considered?
Routine planning meetings and exercises
use the same phone and email lists. The regular
participants get to know each other and build beneficial
relationships.
The key players in the last emergency
response prepare for the next response.
However, the standard phone and email lists and the contacts
from the last response may not include other valuable community
stakeholders and critical resources.
Even during interagency meetings
and exercises, it can be easy to get comfortable with the same names
and faces. When emergencies and disasters occur, though, there are
many others beyond those participants who could be leveraged for
support and resources.
Consider the stakeholders and resources that
are not always included in whole community planning efforts.
For
example:
• Tribal emergency management and rural stakeholders may have unique resources and different preparedness needs.• Volunteers have a lot to offer, but planning is needed to coordinate efforts and leverage their knowledge, skills, and resources. This includes Community Emergency Response Teams and general aviation.• The private sector includes critical communications capabilities and other valuable resources that may be underutilized when not included during the planning process.• Military personnel have life-saving skills that can be taught and applied to civilian mass casualty scenarios and emergency response efforts.
In general, whole community preparedness means involving key
stakeholders in developing preparedness plans and procedures and
ensuring that their roles and responsibilities are outlined in those
plans.
When key players are not involved or valuable resources are
not recognized during the planning phase, gaps are realized during
the response and recovery phases.
For example, as COVID-19 spread,
the need for new planning partners and new resources was realized.
In addition, the capabilities and contributions of nontraditional
partners were recognized.
With the many lessons from the past two years, now is the time to
build resource capacity and look beyond the typical planning partners
and resources.
Before the next pandemic, school shooting, violent
extremist attack, or natural disaster, identify unused or underutilized
resources and invite new faces to the whole community planning
table.
September 2022, Domestic Preparedness Journal www.domesticpreparedness.com
Copyright © 2022, Texas Division of Emergency Management
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