This quote from an October 1999 U.S. Geological Survey empahasizes the urgency for all communities in the Bay region to continue preparing for earthquakes. Acknowledging this significant risk, and recognizing the special needs of the community's vulnerable population, the Triad Alliance was developed to ensure that high risk clients don't "fall through the cracks" during the response and recovery phases of an emergency. The City of San Leandro, California (located in the San Francisco Bay Area region), in partnership with the Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters (CARD), has taken the steps to address the special and unique needs associated with the community's vulnerable population during and after a disaster.

Why The Triad Alliance?
The usual approach to delivering emergency services does not always provide the essential services for that portion of the population requiring special needs. This population may represent those people that are physically or mentally disabled, medically or chemically dependent, elderly, children, homeless, and non-English speakers. Recent disasters demonstrate that traditional response agencies are often ill equipped to respond to the special needs of our vulnerable populations. Following the Loma Prieta earthquake (October 1989) in the San Francisco area and the Northridge earthquake in the Los Angeles area (January 1994), emergency services professionals became painfully aware that the traditional response and recovery systems were not able to successfully satisfy all the human needs. The usual approach to delivering emergency services does not always provide the essential services for that portion of the population requiring special needs. . . the vulnerable population.

Given the high potential for future catastrophic disasters throughout the US, it is imperative to establish an emergency protocol and plan for delivering services to people with language, cultural, and accessibility needs. The vulnerable population is usually associated with Community Based Organizations (CBOs). CBOs are local organizations (usually non-profit) serving the needs of specific populations within the community. CBOs bring unique expertise in delivering services to people with special needs. The challenge for emergency management professionals is to integrate the CBO's skill and knowledge into the emergency services plans and strategy, thus connecting them to local government. This enhances the response and recovery efforts to our vulnerable populations. The Triad Alliance provides that essential participation and linkage.

City: The Emergency Services Division, located in the City Manager's Office, is an active co-founder to the alliance and represents the City in alliance matters and activities. A key objective of the Division's mission is to coordinate emergency response and recovery efforts among city government, school districts, business, community-based organizations, and special districts.

CARD: The Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters, or CARD, is a co-founder of the alliance. This non-profit organization was founded in 1994, with the support of the American Red Cross and United Way. This organization came about as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, when a gap was seen in meeting the needs of the vulnerable populations during and following the quake. CARD's focus is the community's under-served population. CARD has received local, state, national, and international recognition for its model of coordinating disaster planning for at-risk populations.

CBOs: Community Based Organizations are the third principal member of the alliance and form a direct link to the community's vulnerable population. . . their clients. Two CBOs are selected as lead agencies to represent the City's CBO community. These have special experience, knowledge, and skills necessary in serving their clients; this unique know-how, understanding, and expertise becomes an invaluable resource during the response and recovery phases of an emergency or disaster. The City's emergency strategy becomes more responsive and effective in addressing the human services issues by incorporating CBOs into the City's emergency plan and emergency organization.

The members of the Triad Alliance have developed and implemented a set of program elements that form the foundation of the alliance strategy. These elements are:

1. Annual Training Plan: The training plan consists of six core courses taught by the City's Emergency Services Division and CARD, who teaches the majority of courses. The courses are free to the CBOs, except for a minimal charge for equipment and material costs involving the CPR and First Aid course. The courses are offered several times during the year and are designed to provide each CBO with an individualized agency emergency plan and basic emergency education, training, and awareness specific to the City of San Leandro. CBO's recieving grant funding from the City of San Leandro are required to participate in a minimum level of annual training.
2. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): The City, CARD, and the lead CBO agencies enter into a MOU delineating the specific alliance responsibilities of each member.
3. Emergency Organization: Two CBO's are selected as lead agencies to represent the City's CBO community. Thus, CARD and the CBOs enhance the City's response and recovery efforts by providing their unique expertise and knowledge involving the vulnerable population.
4. Quarterly Meetings: Quarterly meetings focus on emergency management issues involving preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery topics. This forum provides essential networking and sharing of preparedness information and resources between the City, CARD, and the CBO community.
5. Budget: Funding is an essential part of any program. CARD provides the City on-going emergency management services, which are essential to the success of The Triad Alliance and the City's overall emergency response strategy. Because of this, the City has added CARD to its annual budget as a permanent part of the Emergency Services Division's budget.