CASE STUDIES
Following the experience of the 2013 Alberta High River Floods, there was growing concern about community disaster preparedness. In response, a concerned group of citizens designed, planned and implemented two one-day workshops in May 2016.
The first WE'RE READY! workshop focused on the Filipino community who may have English as a second language. The second WE'RE READY! workshop was open to the general public in High River. In total, there were 33 participants and 6 organizers, including Carly Benson, the former emergency manager of High River.
In 2019, a second pilot WE'RE READY! workshop was adapted and implemented at the University of Alberta. Edmonton was not impacted by the 2013 flood but there was interest in hosting such a workshop. The workshop aimed to assist participants in designing disaster preparedness plans in the workplace, but participants were also encouraged to use this information for their neighbourhood and household preparation. Participants included a diverse group of faculty, staff, and students (n=15). Adam Conway, the Emergency Manager for the University of Alberta, co-facilitated this workshop along with Ashley Roszko.
The third workshop took place in 2022. Dr. Evalyna Bogdan, trained two social work students as part of their internships from the University of Calgary to adapt and implement the WE'RE READY! workshop for 6 community members in a neighbourhood in Edmonton.
Upcoming! There are 3 workshops planned for City of Vaughan, Ontario for summer 2024. Dr. Evalyna Bogdan from the Disaster and Emergency Management program at York University is training two students to adapt and facilitate the workshops to diverse community groups and train-the-trainer for EM staff.
The success of the WE'RE READY! workshops was assessed in two ways:
1. Completion of the intended tasks for each of the activities;
2. Pre-workshop and post-workshop surveys.
> Impact
FUNDERS
The first WE'RE READY! workshop focused on the Filipino community who may have English as a second language. The second WE'RE READY! workshop was open to the general public in High River. In total, there were 33 participants and 6 organizers, including Carly Benson, the former emergency manager of High River.
In 2019, a second pilot WE'RE READY! workshop was adapted and implemented at the University of Alberta. Edmonton was not impacted by the 2013 flood but there was interest in hosting such a workshop. The workshop aimed to assist participants in designing disaster preparedness plans in the workplace, but participants were also encouraged to use this information for their neighbourhood and household preparation. Participants included a diverse group of faculty, staff, and students (n=15). Adam Conway, the Emergency Manager for the University of Alberta, co-facilitated this workshop along with Ashley Roszko.
The third workshop took place in 2022. Dr. Evalyna Bogdan, trained two social work students as part of their internships from the University of Calgary to adapt and implement the WE'RE READY! workshop for 6 community members in a neighbourhood in Edmonton.
Upcoming! There are 3 workshops planned for City of Vaughan, Ontario for summer 2024. Dr. Evalyna Bogdan from the Disaster and Emergency Management program at York University is training two students to adapt and facilitate the workshops to diverse community groups and train-the-trainer for EM staff.
The success of the WE'RE READY! workshops was assessed in two ways:
1. Completion of the intended tasks for each of the activities;
2. Pre-workshop and post-workshop surveys.
> Impact
FUNDERS
- Mount Royal University Centre for Community Disaster Research
- Town of High River- In-kind staff and resource support
- Campus Sustainability Grant, University of Alberta