The National Resource Center on Advancing Emergency Preparedness for Culturally Diverse Communities (“Diversity Preparedness”) is a virtual center that houses a library of resources on emergency preparedness in diverse and at-risk communities.

Our mission is to serve as a central clearinghouse of resources and information to improve preparedness, build resilience, and eliminate disparities for culturally diverse and at-risk communities who are or who may be particularly vulnerable in emergencies. We strive to facilitate communication, networking, and collaboration among all those involved in the emergency planning, response, recovery, and mitigation processes.  

The Center was originally developed in 2007 with a grant from the Office of Minority Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, following Hurricane Katrina, an event that demonstrated how racial and ethnic minorities can experience disproportionately high rates of injury, stress, loss, and death following disasters. The reasons for these outcomes relate to some of the reasons for overall health disparities in these populations: lack of access to medical care and other services, cultural and language barriers, distrust of government and service providers, and often, low socioeconomic status that compromises individual preparedness efforts and overall resilience. More recent incidents like Superstorm Sandy in 2012, showed how people with special healthcare needs, including the elderly, were at-risk for similarly severe outcomes. Thus, in the interest of providing planners, responders, and other professionals with a “one-stop-shop” location for critical resources relevant to preparing the “whole” community, the Center also includes information and planning tools for those populations as well.