Instead of breaking out the go-bags and extra water bottles, Jamie Albrecht, Berkeley's Emergency Services Coordinator, stressed the importance of getting to know your neighbors. She kicked off the program with a training last week at Berkeley’s Central library.
"We actually didn’t need to do that much talking like people there were learning a lot from each other and like being I have tried this you could try this. And that was probably the best part"
She said that being connected to your neighbors is important in times of crisis.
"The evidence exists that it dramatically improves your post-disaster outcomes."
She also pointed out that in the event of a natural disaster, emergency personnel can't be in all places at all times.
"We only have a certain number of resources and like the more people that you like add to your network of care the more support and extra help you are going to have."
Albrecht's plan for disaster preparedness looks more like a community building plan. She hopes to reach students and families with young children. Their next event will be a party at Cedar Rose Park on April 4th from 1 to 3 p.m. She says she hopes it will be 90 percent fun and 10 percent disaster preparedness.
