Strengthening disaster preparedness in community service organisations

This presentation reports on research that aimed to develop disaster preparedness in community service organisations. During times of disaster, community service organisations typically face increasing demand for services, and yet their capacity for service continuity is often affected by a lack of preparedness to respond to the multilayered impacts of disaster. Drawing on research outcomes, the ULTRIS model of disaster preparedness was designed to equip community service organisations with the capacity to continue service provision and manage service disruption during and following disasters. Consisting of six dimensions the model involves: (U) understanding your role; (L) local community context; (T) team preparedness; (R) relationship building; (I) implementing policies and procedures; and (S) service user preparedness. By adopting this model, community service organisations can take practical steps to promote an inclusive, participatory approach to enhancing disaster resilience. Implications include the opportunity for human service workers to influence organisational perspectives and approaches for engaging in disaster preparedness, thereby increasing the visibility of the contribution that the human service sector has for effective action towards mitigating the inequitable impacts of disasters on marginalised groups.