On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, over 150 community leaders and human service providers will come together to strengthen how vulnerable residents are readied for and helped during a disaster. Katrina?s Lesson: Reach Our Vulnerable Residents NOW is one of the first conferences of its kind in King County to unite private and public agencies in this effort.
?If we learned anything from Katrina, it is that we need to know how to reach our vulnerable residents now if we?re going to meet their needs in a disaster,? said King County Executive Ron Sims. ?King County is committed to building a resilient community where everyone is supported in a crisis and no one is left behind.?
?United Way of King County?s vision is that our community has a robust and trusted human services system that is responsive to current and emerging needs of all residents, particularly our most vulnerable residents,? said Jon Fine, CEO for United Way of King County.
King County has made a significant contribution to supporting vulnerable populations in a crisis through King County Executive Ron Sims? Pandemic Flu Initiative. Through this support, Public Health has formed a Vulnerable Populations Action Team that is working with, learning from and supporting organizations that serve vulnerable populations.
In addition to co-hosting the Katrina?s Lesson conference, Public Health is using this funding to support an innovative grant program to community-based organizations for smaller preparedness projects. As a product of the conference, Public Health will work with community partners to provide additional outreach, trainings and support for local agencies to increase community capacity to prepare, respond and recover.
Providing effective and innovative health and disease prevention services for over 1.8 million residents and visitors of King County, Public Health ? Seattle & King County works for safer and healthier communities for everyone, every day.