Emergency relief centre management guidelines for CALD groups : Australian Safer Communities Awards submission / Maribyrnong City Council, CUBE Management Solutions.

"July 2007" -- cover.

Winner: 2007 Australian Safer Communities Awards, Combination stream, Post-Disaster category.

Winner: 2007 Australian Safer Communities Awards, State Award Recipient.

The City of Maribyrnong is a culturally diverse municipality with 39% of its residents born overseas. Developing the Emergency Relief Centre Guidelines was an essential part of their progressive approach to planning for incidents. Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities have special requirements (language, diet and religious) but may also have experienced traumatic incidents in the past that may impact their actions during a crisis. This project was aimed at delivering a user friendly and comprehensive guide to help manage the needs of CALD communities in the initial 48-72 hours of the establishment of an emergency relief centre and to develop an awareness raising tool for managers of emergency relief centres of the background of major CALD groups in the area. Other considerations taken into account to maximise the outcomes included ongoing development of the guidelines; developing a framework adaptable to changing CALD groups; establishing an engagement strategy that supported the transfer of knowledge; and identifying and communicating project learnings. The project has been a major undertaking and has served as a prime example of government, emergency services and community listening and collaboratively achieving a collective approach to managing the needs of a diverse community during crises. Through an extensive consultation and engagement process including questionnaires, forums, and focus groups, a wide range of groups were reached. This approach helped to determine the concerns and needs around an evacuation in an emergency situation. The process contributed valuable information in not only developing the guidelines, but also raising awareness of Maribyrnong?s diverse community needs. An exercise, set up in one of the City?s community centres, tested the guidelines in a simulated evacuation that involved students from an English language class. The Guidelines provide checklists, processes, templates, tools, resources and references to assist with the development, operation and continuous improvement of CALD management practices for the Council in emergency situations.