Thirty years of walking into the worst night of someone's life, and figuring out how to make the next one better.
It had been a long night for the families forced to flee their homes.
The panic and fear on their faces was heartbreaking as they waited to hear what would happen next. Young families with kids. People clinging tightly to their pets. Others just sitting, staring into space, trying to understand what was happening and what it meant for the rest of their lives.
I looked up as another family came through the doors of the Reception Centre. The forest fires had forced whole communities out, and centres like ours had been set up to give people somewhere safe to land.
The hard part wasn't the fire. It was that so many of them had no plan. They were caught completely off guard, unsure where to go or what to do, without the things they needed to get through the coming days. And underneath all of it, the question nobody could answer for them yet: will there be a home to go back to?
That night is why I do this work.
I’ve seen firsthand what happens when people are prepared - and when they’re not.
And one thing is always clear: Preparation changes everything.
That's the whole problem, and it's the reason most people never begin. Preparedness gets talked about like a personality trait, something you either have or you don't. It isn't. It's a list of decisions, and they're much easier to make on an ordinary Tuesday than they are at two in the morning with the power out.
So that's what I do. I take people through those decisions in order, before anything happens. Families, businesses, neighbourhoods, and the ESS teams who show up when it all goes wrong.
I've been the person handing out blankets at three in the morning. I've also been the person who trained the team handing them out. Both jobs taught me the same thing: preparation is the only part of a disaster you get to control.
The short version, for anyone who needs it in writing.
30 years In emergency management and disaster preparedness, including 20 years with the City of Vancouver
ESS Former ESS Director for the City of Vancouver, responding to 45 to 60 activations a year. Supported First Nations ESS with plan development
Teaching Instructor with the Justice Institute of BC, teaching ESS teams across Canada how to activate and run Reception Centres and Group Lodging Centres
Author My Earthquake Preparedness Guide, plus an ongoing blog on preparedness for families
2019 Pacific Northwest Preparedness Society Award of Excellence
2014 Justice Institute of BC Instructor Excellence Award
2013 Queen's Jubilee Award, for dedication to helping people displaced by disaster
Media Regularly interviewed across Canada on disaster and earthquake preparedness
Whether that's your family, your team, or your community, the first step is the same. |
Have a conversation before you need to.