Latinos During Emergencies: Cultural Considerations Impacting Disaster Preparedness

Almost one in six United States residents identifies as Latino. Emergency planning that fails to account for cultural considerations common to many Latino populations can create barriers that put these groups at increased risk during emergencies.   This program highlights the importance of engaging the Latino community in planning and response activities to help facilitate community resiliency.

Speakers:

Blanca Ramos, MSW, PhD
Associate Professor, School of Social Welfare, University at Albany

Dr. Ramos will give an overview of  cultural constructs, how cultural differences in the Latino community might impact emergency preparedness and response, and her current research results from the Arequipan Earthquake study.  

Mr. Charles Kamasaki
Executive Vice President, National Council of La Raza

Mr. Kamasaki will  discuss assessing the needs of vulnerable populations and applying cross-cultural strategies for emergency situations. He will also give an overview of the Emergency Managers Tool Kit: Meeting the Needs of Latino Communities just released by NCLR.

Objectives:
At the conclusion of the presentation, the participants will be able to:

• Describe at least two cultural differences that might impact emergency preparedness and response activities.
• Identify strategies for assessing the needs of the Latino population in a community.
• List two approaches used by the speakers to engage members from the Latino community in emergency  response and preparedness activities.
• Identify culturally sensitive, cross-cultural risk communication methods that incorporate issues of language, trust, literacy and the use of new media.

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