What We Do
Train Community Leaders
Ark of Safety
In times of uncertainty, people look to their community and faith leaders for guidance. Studies on the impact of disasters, from 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina to local wildfires, describe community and faith-based organizations’ critical role as sources of physical, social, and spiritual care. When disaster strikes, initial services may not come from the government but rather from community organizations, churches, synagogues, mosques, and other faith-based organizations. Building Resilient Communities designed the Ark of Safety program to prepare organizations to respond and recover from major emergencies and disasters.
We work with congregations to provide disaster preparedness assessments, planning tools, resources, consulting services for preparation planning, access to high-quality discounted emergency supplies, training, and much more. Our program ensures that organizations have a plan in place that they can effectively enact during a crisis.
Disaster Preparedness Bible Study
Are You Ready for Disaster? is a free Bible study designed by Building Resilient Communities to prepare church families to respond and recover from major emergencies and disasters. We invite church bible studies or small groups to devote the four weeks of National Preparedness Month in September to studying God’s word on preparedness using our free Bible Study Guide. The Study can also be broken into shorter segments spread out over months. CLICK HERE to download your free copy!
Help Us Continue to Provide Resources and Trainings to Communities in the Inland Region
Join us for the Ark of Safety
Community Resiliency Summit Reconvening
Ark of Safety Community Resiliency Summit Roadmap to Resilience Report
Ark of Safety Community Resiliency Summit Reconvening Roadmap to Resilience Report
Check out our some of our training webinars below!
Equip Small Businesses
Ark of Safety Business
Ark of Safety Business provides training and consulting services to help small marginalized businesses, nonprofits, long-term care facilities, and hospice agencies prepare to respond and recover from major emergencies and disasters. Our team of highly professional and skilled consultants and facilitators have over 30 years of experience in emergency management, fire, law, and business. All have experience working with local and federal government, businesses, and community-based organizations.
We help businesses:
• Develop an emergency action plan (i.e. evacuation, fire, etc.)
• Prepare I.T. systems
• Create an effective emergency communications plan
• Construct a plan to get the business back into action after a disaster, including succession planning
• Acquire appropriate emergency supplies
• Train an emergency team and staff
• Identify opportunities to assist the community before and after a disaster
Prepare Families
Ark of Safety Youth
Disasters disproportionately impact children, yet many programs often overlook the importance of preparing children. Children are considered a vulnerable group and are more prone than others to damage, loss, suffering, injury, and death in the event of a disaster. Through the Ark of Safety Youth program, we have educated over 1,000 K-12th graders on disaster preparedness topics, including family preparedness, active assailant, wildfires, earthquakes, terrorism, cybersafety, and first aid.
Our program is a part of the National Strategy for Youth Preparedness Education, a partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the American Red Cross, and the Department of Education to promote youth preparedness and build a more resilient nation.
Provide a Helping Hand
Christian Disaster Relief Coalition
Building Resilient Communities Christian Disaster Relief Coalition is a disaster response network that unites local houses of worship to rapidly deploy emergency response volunteers to communities affected by disasters.
Disaster can strike at any time, and when it does, people often turn to their local churches for refuge. Trained and available, our member churches are ready to respond to these emergencies, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. During an emergency, CDRC members provide families with everything from emotional and spiritual support to supplies and shelter. When the storm passes, we are there to help pick up the pieces. We work with local and national emergency response teams to coordinate volunteers, manage donations, and much more.
Emotional & Spiritual Care
Feedback from local and county emergency management after the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack, and the 2017 North Park Elementary School active shooter incident, solidified the need for standardized, and coordinated, emotional and spiritual care. Building Resilient Communities has been working closely with San Bernardino County to address this need.
Our Emotional and Spiritual Care mission is to provide emotional and spiritual care to people affected by disaster in cooperation with national, state and local response organizations and VOADs. This position serves on a volunteer, non-paid basis, providing emotional and/or spiritual “first aid” intervention not psychotherapy, to assist individuals, families and communities impacted by crisis or devastating loss, including other volunteers and first responders.
Building Resilient Communities accomplishes its mission in several ways:
- Provide emotional & spiritual care services, through our Christian Disaster Relief Coalition, when requested by government emergency managers and health departments
- Train and vett emotional and spiritual care providers
- Identify specific issues of emotional and spiritual needs as a significant component of disaster response
- Educate our government partners, non-affiliated partners, and faith-based organizations about the importance of meeting the emotional and spiritual needs in disasters
- Promote best practices, standards and models to provide effective emotional and spiritual care.
Building Resilient Communities Training Catalog
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