SACo Ready - Emergency Essentials

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

Saline County Emergency Management worked with local partners to provide disaster kits to Saline County citizens disproportionately impacted by disasters due to their age, health, or socioeconomic status. This program was designed to provide individuals and families with practical kits that allow supplies to be rotated with everyday items from their homes. This process will enable the supplies in the kit to not exceed their shelf life and ease the financial burden of preparedness for the most at-risk citizens. The program was publicly launched during Severe Weather Week 2023 in conjunction with a preparedness information and education campaign. One outcome of the program is that 115 more homes in our community now have the basic supplies needed to be self-sustainable during a disaster for 72 hours. The majority of those homes included one or more individuals in high-risk, vulnerable, or disproportionally disadvantaged populations. In addition to the supplies in the disaster kits, educational materials for children and a disaster planning guide help facilitate household emergency planning. The kit distribution also provided a catalyst for an education and information campaign encouraging discourse in the home surrounding natural disasters. This disaster kit program additionally aids first responders and emergency resources during a disaster by lessening the strain on the system because individuals and families are more resilient and self-reliant.