About
About Us
Lane COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster) is a group of community- organizations, businesses, nonprofits and individuals working together to plan community responses to a variety of emergency and disaster situations. Its primary role is to fill the void when voluntary agencies that have state-wide or regional resources have not yet mobilized to respond and to continue the long-term recovery when those agencies have left the scene. A COAD will know what resources members have to potentially offer and the contact person to access them.
Lane COAD is support to County and City emergency managers but is not run by government personnel. During a community wide emergency, the COAD helps with sharing information, resources, and expertise. COADs consists of people, organizations, faith groups, and businesses in a community, who are immediately available, in close proximity to, and/or who want to contribute to the response and or recovery of that community. Members follow the Guiding Principles (bylaws) and attend meetings, trainings, and dedicate resources in times of disaster. They sign a Letter of Commitment as an organization and agree to volunteer their services in coordination with Lane COAD's Emergency Operations Plan.
The Role of COAD
The most important role of COAD is to keep members informed on the capabilities, involvement, and activities of other members during an activation. Some of the requests we have had to our membership during COAD activations include:
Locating and providing access to shelters, and communicating these to the community.
Offering emergency aid including food, water, shelter, family reunification support, clothing, and cleanup supplies.
Assisting in animal rescue and sheltering during emergencies.
Contributing to search and rescue, security, transportation, and logistical efforts.
Supporting community health and mental health resources.
Receiving fiscal and material donations.
Recruiting, managing and tracking volunteers.
Aiding disaster survivors with recovery plans, forming a long-term recovery group to administer aid, and addressing unmet needs.
Public information and warning for cuturally specific messaging, translators, and interpreters, as well as operational communications for tracking and reporting.
COADs enhance a community's ability to mitigate, prepare, respond and recover from disasters, ensuring that human needs inherent in a disaster situation are evaluated and addressed.
Origin
The Lane County COAD grew out of a project started by Lane County Public Health and the Lane County Vulnerable Populations Emergency Preparedness Coalition in 2009 to build a culture of preparedness among community based organizations of Lane County.
Cooperation
No member organization has all of the answers for the challenges communities face. Members treat each other as partners.
Communication
Members regularly share their capacities, accomplishments, and commitments. The COAD maintains good channels for sharing information, listening carefully to each other, and dealing openly with concerns.
Coordination
COAD members work together towards the goal of effective service to the community. The COAD will equip members to be coordinated in times of disaster through planning and preparation.
Collaboration
COAD members dedicate themselves to working together. The COAD exists to coordinate member organizations’ activities in relation to emergency response.
