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Having a written comprehensive disaster plan is crucial for community-based organizations (CBOs) to ensure preparedness, facilitate a swift and organized response, and minimize the impact of emergencies on operations, staff, and clients. This study utilized content analysis to evaluate the quality of disaster plans from 62 homeless-serving CBOs that receive funding from the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program, according to two frameworks of disaster preparedness standards. Mean quality scores were assigned for each standard and their associated activities based on inclusion and specificity. Overall, the GPD disaster plans excelled in some standards of plan quality, such as having robust evacuation procedures, including strategies to protect the life safety of staff and clients, and incorporating activities to manage response processes. However, long-term recovery and the continuity of essential services were not adequately planned, and most plans did not include procedures to contact the VA during a disaster nor strategies to prepare clients for disaster response. In addition, small organizations and those located in the Northeast and Midwest regions had lower overall plan quality scores. Findings highlight critical areas for improvement in the disaster preparedness plans of homeless-serving CBOs to ensure their ability to provide care and services to individuals experiencing homelessness during times of crisis.
Balut et al. (Thu,) studied this question.