Enhancing the Capacity of Emergency Managers to Respond to Hispanic Communities

Disasters such as the September 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita exposed deficiencies in the emergency preparedness and disaster response system to deal with Hispanic communities. In each of these events, preparedness and response efforts were hampered by the inability of government and disaster relief agencies to provide information and services in Spanish, a lack of understanding about relief eligibility guidelines by employees and volunteers, and the reluctance of Latinos to seek services. While emergency managers are charged with developing strategies to serve all populations, they have received little guidance on how to approach, and work with, this vulnerable community. Given the growth of the Latino community, the fact that there is no comprehensive strategy to address the special needs of this population undermines preparedness and relief efforts and presents a public health risk particularly within the context of a biological attack or infectious disease outbreak. To address this, the National Council of La Raza's Institute for Hispanic Health developed a tool kit for emergency managers. The tool kit, which was informed by a comprehensive literature review, focus group research with Latino immigrants, interviews with emergency managers and Latino stakeholders, and an advisory committee comprised of national and local disaster preparedness and relief experts, is designed to provide emergency managers with the resources necessary to effectively engage with the Latino community in their area. The tool kit provides resources and information to address the needs of Hispanics in the preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation phases of a disaster.