The Resilience Institute
Huxley College of the Environment
Press Release –October 26, 2009
The Resilience Institute at WWU’s Huxley College of the Environment, in collaboration with Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management, is conducting a risk awareness study of an emergency preparedness campaign in selected neighborhoods in the county.
Expanding on the successful Snohomish County “Who Depends On You? Are you prepared for a Disaster?” (WDOY) preparedness campaign, the institute will administer two surveys to three different residential neighborhoods in Sultan, Everett and the Tulalip Tribes. The initial survey will give insight to the most effective ways of disseminating emergency preparedness information to these communities. Emergency management officials will use the results of the survey to expand their preparedness message to communities at-risk to disaster. After the dissemination process, the institute will go back to the selected neighborhoods and conduct an additional survey to determine the effectiveness of the new awareness methods.
The WDOY program was designed by Mary Schoenfeldt, Public Education Coordinator for the Everett Office of Emergency Management, as a way to promote emergency preparedness by asking the question, “Who depends on you in a disaster situation.” Schoenfeldt says the idea for the campaign came to her when walking up her driveway thinking about what would motivate her to be more prepared for a fire, winter storm, flood, earthquake, or other emergency event. She was not concerned for herself. Her children had grown up and moved out. As she pondered who she would be concerned about, she looked down at her dog’s eyes, which gave her the answer, “me!” Since then, WDOY banners can be found on city buses, schools, and businesses with pictures of pet owners with their animals and families with their loved ones with the message, “They are counting on you.”
WDOY has spread throughout the state as a potentially effective method for encouraging people to prepare themselves. The campaign’s goal is to help ensure that hazard events don’t become personal disasters. Schoenfeldt said people are generally educated about emergency preparedness and have a good sense of what they need to do but need a nudge to set them into action. Despite WDOY’s widening use, it has never been tested to determine its effectiveness in reaching out to various communities. The goal of the study with The Resilience Institute is to provide an assessment that will help the campaign expand its message outreach program.
The Resilience Institute, part of the Huxley College of the Environment at Western, will coordinate with the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management in the study. Western students will have the opportunity to assist in conducting the surveys. Riley Grant, a WWU graduate with a Master’s in Environmental Education, and CJ Huxford, a senior in Environmental Studies, will coordinate the project. Rebekah Green, Associate Director of The Resilience Institute, will be advising. The Resilience Institute seeks to create and disseminate practical knowledge and tools that promote resilience human and ecological communities in the context of natural hazard risk. For further information about the Institute and its work, please visit
www.wwu.edu/resilience.
