Community resilience and preparedness : City government engagement with consulates

1. Community resilience and preparedness: City governmentengagementwith consulates and NGOs/NPOs to reach a wider audience Elisa Estrada, MPA New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene • Most Useful and Practical Experiences • Unity among Consulates and NPOs/NGOs • Support, coordination, cooperation, unity • Non-paid overtime (NGO/NPO staff) • Generous donations • Offers • Tetanus shots • Family Assistance Centers (FAC) • Activated if incident involves > 10 fatalities • Numerous agencies involved • NYPD operations • Assistance in rapid return of victims • Give up-to-date information • Provide daily briefings • Opportunity for families to ask questions • Barriers to Disaster Response • Space deficit for storing donations • Cost • Location • Major delays in releasing containers in ports • Backlog • Bureaucracy • Political environment • “not a known organization” • Hospitals policies regarding patient information • Experience in London • Concerns about a disaster in NYC Introduction • Roles in a disaster • Most useful, practical experiences • Barriers to disaster response • Recommendations for local government involvement • Participants: • Five NGOs/NPOs (nine invited) • Gabriela Mistral Foundation (Chile) • The Chile Club • Haitian American Nurses Association (HANA) • Haitian Americans United for Progress (HAUP) • Pakistani American Pharmaceutical Association • Three consulates: Chile, Haiti, Pakistan • Results • Roles in a Disaster • Consulates • Update expatriates on developments and welfare of potentially affected loved ones • Communicate with local press • Ask the community to remain calm • NPOs/NGOs • Prepare containers with donations (canned food, medicine, medical supplies, and clothes) • Coordinate support for affected citizens (telephone lines and Internet access to locate and communicate with families) • Provide counseling and give referrals • Relationship (Consulates & NPOs/NGOs) • Familiarity with communities • Established professional relationships • Recommendations for Local Government • Inform all consulates about FAC services • Outreach by the NYC Office of Emergency Management and NYC Health Department/Office of the Chief Medical Examiner • Sponsor a conference • Consulate/NGOs • Potential to re-direct stockpile supplies • Rotation • Opportunities for the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response • Conclusions • The NYC Department of Health has aided disaster recovery efforts by providing information about the Family Assistance Centers and other critical data . • In other cities, counties, or villages a local health department or other public health agency may take thelead in a similar situation. • Strong relationships and coordination of local governments with area NGOs, NPOs, and consulates are vital in promoting and preparing for effective and efficient disaster response. • In New York City (NYC), Haitian, Chilean, and Pakistani communities responded strongly to 2010 earthquakes and floods in their countries. Understanding how NYC-based expatriate communities coordinated their responses to disasters in their home countries may aid the NYC Department of Health’s plans to support emergency response efforts. The impact of hardships, miscommunication, misunderstandings, delays, trauma, and other distresses associated with disasters is lessened and community recovery hastened. The chart below depicts the population of these communities in the 5 boroughs. • Estimated 2005-2009 Populations of Pakistani, Haitian,and Chilean Expatriates in New York City • Source: American Community Survey U.S. Census Bureau • Objectives • Gain a better understanding of the coordination and mobilization of the response of New York City-based expatriate communities to disasters in their home countries. • Identify successful strategies, facilitating factors, and barriers to effective response. • Methods • Semi-structured interviews were held encompassing four topics: Contact: Elisa Estrada, MPA Program & Fiscal Manager Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene 42-09 28th Street WS 6-86 Queens, NY 11101 Telephone: 347-396-2709 E-mail:eestrada@health.nyc.gov