Program developed to inform women on emergency preparedness
As a first generation Latina, Diana Crofts-pelayo said her mother led the charge in her family.
“When we didn’t know what to do, we looked to her,” Croftspelayo said.
In the case of an emergency, Crofts-pelayo said her mother was the one who supported her, her grandmother and their family in Mexico. The new Listas Campaign from the the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services aims to educate women like Crofts-pelayo’s mother on emergency preparedness.
Throughout March and April, Cal OES will focus on teaching women on how to lead their families to safety during a natural disaster, like a wildfire, earthquake, flood or mudslide.
The campaign will include a website with information on emergency preparedness, a telephone campaign that will contact 400,000 women led head of households and a video social media campaign.
This women-centered program came from Cal OES’S research that found women under 50 from Hispanic, Black or Asian and Pacific Islander backgrounds predominantly lead their families during an emergency, said Crofts-pelayo, who serves as the assistant director of crisis communications and public affairs for the office. The study also found that women are more likely to inspire their communities.
She said that even in conversation about this program, women who were eldest daughters or an older female figure were identified as those who “bring trust into the family.”
This program aspires to give women the “tools on how to be prepared” in case of a natural disaster. Outreach efforts will sample Cal OES’S preparedness messaging: signing up for emergency alerts, creating a plan, having a go bag and connecting with loved ones. Their campaign will offer preparedness information on specific types of natural disasters to those living in at risk areas.
The Listas Campaign was born out of Cal OES’S Listos program, which focuses on emergency outreach efforts for the most “at risk” communities in California, Crofts-pelayo said.
Cal OES is also offering downloadable resources focused in multiple languages that focus on disaster preparedness and response and recovery. These resources include social media graphics, flyers, guides and videos of preparedness and flooding in Indigenous languages.