Speakers: Helen Ahrens-Byington, Deputy Fire Chief/City Emergency Manager, City of
Kirkland
Stephanie Day, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, City of Kirkland; This presentation will describe working with partners to reach vulnerable populations to help get
them prepared for a disaster. The City received donated funds to help prepare the community.
Kirkland partnered with Hopelink food bank to distribute preparedness kits to families in need.
Then they partnered with Transitional Housing to distribute more preparedness backpacks. The
kits were not just given to the person but they got to participate in building the kit to meet their
family size. Many volunteers from the community came to assist in the building of the kits.
Pakistani Call girls in Deira 0567006274 Deira Call girls
Build A Kit Event For Vulnerable Populations, A Case Study from Kirkland
1. Build A Kit Event forBuild A Kit Event for
Vulnerable Populations
April 2011April 2011
2. O POur Purpose
To create a resilient comm nitTo create a resilient community
H l l bl l ti i th itHelp a vulnerable population in the community
Low income
3. Wh did b i ?Where did we begin?
• Identified needs/risks of communityIdentified needs/risks of community
• Received donations
– Greater Kirkland Chamber of CommerceGreater Kirkland Chamber of Commerce
– Kirkland Fire Dept
Fire District #41– Fire District #41
– Puget Sound Energy
• Identified partner organization/venue• Identified partner organization/venue
4. P t hiPartnerships
• Hopelink foodbankp
• American Red Cross
• Chamber of Commerce
• Kirkland Fire Dept &
Fire District #41
Public Health Seattle• Public Health Seattle
King County
• Volunteers (CERT’s,( ,
ARES, City staff)
5. P tPre-event
• Planning meetingg g
– Determined date/time
– Toured warehouse
• Registration/screening
of clients
– Appointments
• Coordination of
l tvolunteers
• Media
6. S ppliesSupplies
• Local vendorLocal vendor
• Items chosen for durability
& minimal replacement &
maintenancemaintenance
• Hand crank vs battery
operated
• Larger first aid kit
• Durable, extra large
portable bagportable bag
9. A th tAnother event
• Had supplies left over from first eventHad supplies left over from first event
• Partnered with Kirkland Interfaith TransitionalPartnered with Kirkland Interfaith Transitional
Housing (KITH)
• Distributed preassembled kits at community
dinnerd e
11. Ch llChallenges
• Trying to reach out to • Trying to gainTrying to reach out to
a community group
that really does not
Trying to gain
community support
for an event that is
want to be known
• Language barriers
hard to promote
• Supply storageLanguage barriers Supply storage
12. C t tContacts
• Helen Ahrens-Byington, Admin Deputy Fire Chiefy g , p y
hahrens@ci.kirkland.wa.us
(425) 587-3603
• Stephanie Day, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator
@sday@ci.kirkland.ws.us
(425) 587-3630