Living in California, emergencies—earthquakes, fires, power outages—are part of life. To make sure that you have the information and resources that you need to be prepared, Community Living Campaign’s E-Prep team has been working hard to get the word out.
With funding from the Bay Area United Way, E-Prep team members have been tabling at farmers’ markets, Sunday Streets and other neighborhood events over the summer to encourage people to develop an emergency plan and to download the MyShake App to support them in an emergency situation. To date, the team has connected with over 1,500 individuals in English, Chinese, and Spanish!
The CLC E-Prep team, under the former direction of Medina Sadiq, is also distributing Emergency Preparedness material via the Food Network and our Work Matters Collaborative and virtually through CLC’s computer training programs.
Medina notes that the program] reaches people where they are, in their own language and in their own communities. It’s really meaningful that we can have conversations with strangers, enabling them to save their own lives.”
To increase the impact of this program, CLC has partnered with Catholic Charities, Mission Neighborhood Centers, and Golden Gate Senior Centers to extend the reach of this program to over 5,000 individuals this fall.
Here’s a snapshot of the 2022 E-Prep Team.
Alan Lam is originally from Hong Kong. He moved to the United States in 1997 where his first job was working in guest services at a hotel. Since that time, he has held other positions in customer service. Alan joined CLC in May 2022 and enjoys working with the community and training people how to be better prepared in the event of an emergency.
I love when families come to our presentations, because I get to share whistles and balloons with the children and see their sweet smiles.”
Paul Hickman relocated to San Francisco from Boston in 1995, he began working as a homeless shelter counselor. He moved on to positions with the Women’s Shelter at St. Anthony’s Foundation, and Felton Institute where he worked with seniors and people with disabilities. Although he retired in 2020, Paul joined CLC when he realized that he had more to give.
Paul loves the fact that] “when seniors and people with disabilities attend CLC events, they become talkative, benefiting from the information and social stimulation.”
Mark Huynh came to San Francisco with his family from Vietnam when he was 11 years old. He graduated from SF State University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Mark speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, English and even some Vietnamese. He has been working with the CLC E-Prep Team since June 2022. He enjoys working with older adults and people with disabilities. Mark’s favorite part of the job is connecting with people, teaching them how to be safe in emergencies.
Man Sang Louie immigrated with his family to Montreal from Hong Kong when he was 12. Eventually they moved to San Francisco where he attended City College, then Cal State University in San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), earning an Electrical Engineering degree. He spent his career in telecommunications, working for companies like Chevron. Man Sang became interested in working with seniors and people with disabilities when he was employed by Felton Institute; he joined the team in March 2022 and enjoys doing outreach in different neighborhoods around the City.
The E-Prep is a good team and we get along well – good teamwork.”
Laurette Spanglet was raised in New York City and her family moved to San Francisco when she was 15. She attended attended San Francisco State and has a Community Health Worker certificate. Working with seniors and people with disabilities is meaningful for Laurette as she has had personal experience in both populations. Laurette also loves animals—she has two cats and has volunteered with Pets are Wonderful Support (PAWS).
I’ve improved my personal emergency kit since joining the CLC. It is so important to prepare folks for emergencies!”
