Limited English Proficiency Populations & Racial and Ethnic Minorities

1. Create evacuation plans that do not rely on individual resources such as car ownership, or personal finances for temporary housing
2. Provide pre-made home disaster kits for low-income populations that include critical items such as food, water, a small radio, and batteries
3. Plan for longer-term food, shelter, clothing, and medical needs of recovering minority populations
4. Communicate information about legitimate disaster-related resources to reduce the risk of the population falling victim to fraudulent recovery services

National Resource Center on Advancing Emergency Preparedness for Culturally Diverse Communities

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - Citizen Preparedness Guide

1. Create registries of disabled populations to facilitate advance planning for their needs
2. Equip shelters with appropriate medications, medical supplies, and facilities to address the short term needs of these populations
3. Conduct tabletop and other training exercises with scenarios focused on minority disabled or chronically ill patients
4. Seek information on the unique needs and concerns of minority and LEP populations from community based organizations that serve their interests

NICOS Chinese Health Coalition

Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disaster (CARD)

1. Construct preparedness and response programs in a manner that is consistent with cultural differences in living arrangements, family structure, and behavioral norms
2. Translate materials into the languages spoken in the local community
3. Identify the steps citizens must take to protect themselves in an emergency
4. Communicate in more than one medium: translate TV and radio messages as well as print and the Internet
5. Tailor messages to persons with low literacy by using audio and visual aides
6. Rely on existing communication/social networks and people to convey critical public health information
7. Develop programs to train and deploy health promoters and medical interpreters as messengers of public health information

National Resource Center on Advancing Emergency Preparedness for Culturally Diverse Communities

Emergency, Community and Health Outreach program (ECHO)

1. Coordinate efforts with representatives of minority populations in planning sessions to build trust and open a dialog for exchanging critical information
2. Clarify when and how citizenship affects access to aid
3. Identify trusted messengers and information networks and use them to convey public health warnings and directives

Public Health Promotores