California Listas disaster initiative recognizes women as changemakers
SACRAMENTO — A new campaign is targeting women to ensure they're ready for disaster when it strikes.
Floods, fires, earthquakes, and mudslides are all disasters that can happen in our state. The Listas Campaign is a first-of-its-kind initiative focusing on getting women the information and resources needed to keep their families safe when disaster strikes.
The campaign is being put out by the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). It will have tips like how to prepare a go bag, sign up for alerts, and talk to friends and family about a disaster plan.
"We've kind of found out that women are oftentimes the changemakers, the decision-makers in their home," said Alicia de la Garza, spokesperson for Cal OES' fire and rescue division. "So we're empowering women through this initiative to get their families ready before, during, and after a disaster."
Though de la Garza feels Californians, in general, are prepared for natural disasters, she said "it never hurts to keep practicing that."
To ensure people are prepared, Cal OES will post to social media to provide web-based resources and will even have phone banks reaching out to nearly 400,000 women heads of households.
When disaster strikes, seconds can make all the difference.
"They're short. They're consumable. They're to the point and they're direct," de la Garza said of the alerts. "So they just have the info people need to be ready before, during and after."
Cal OES found that that women under 50 in California who are Hispanic, Black, or Asian American and Pacific Islander are among the most likely to view themselves as primarily responsible for their family's emergency preparedness among all age, gender and ethnic groups.