"SCC Prepared" Gives Communities Accessible Disaster Response Training
Nicollette Paredes, Housing Program Lead at Catholic Charities, demonstrates how to use a fire extinguisher during a recent “SCC Prepared” workshop in Gilroy.
Community members attend a recent “SCC Prepared” workshop in San Jose.
Participants in Catholic Charities “SCC Prepared” workshops receive more than disaster training and an emergency preparedness go-bag.
“Our goal is to build community and relationships among the individuals who come to these workshops,” according to Monica Abundis, Disaster Program Lead who is conducting and organizing the trainings throughout the county.
“We encourage people to get to know their neighbors and make a disaster plan together. Those connections can be as important as having the right preparedness tools and knowledge,” said Abundis who began working at Catholic Charities in 2019 in a role of continuing support to the survivors of the devastating 2017 Coyote Creek Flood in San Jose.
In 2021, the agency began holding the “SCC Prepared” workshops in Spanish, Vietnamese, and English to residents of under-resourced neighborhoods in Santa Clara County‘s East San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and Mountain View. These areas are diverse, home to thousands of low-income residents living in high-density housing, and at high risk for power outages, house fires, and wildfires. Funding for the trainings is provided through California Fire Foundation Wildfire Safety & Preparedness Grants. So far, almost 150 households have been represented at the trainings. Eight sessions were scheduled for August through September.
Workshops are held at CCSCC’s Family Resource Centers, food distribution sites, and parish-based Community Markets. Topics include:
• house fire and wildfire safety
• home safety and equipment
• family emergency planning
• emergency alert systems
• managing poor air quality
• evacuation plans
Participants watch instructional videos on a flat screen mounted to the side of the Catholic Charities “Big Blue” disaster services van (donated by San Jose Rotary) and engage in hands-on activities. Attendees are encouraged to make a plan, build a kit, and be informed. They are also provided with an emergency preparedness go-bag.
“Our workshops are designed to overcome the language barriers, lack of technology or connectivity, and transportation accessibility,” Abundis said. “By going to the people in the neighborhoods where they live, we are working to ensure that our trainings are available and convenient.
“Since disasters affect everyone, regardless of culture or income, we want to make sure all families are prepared.”
For more information on “SCC Prepared” workshops, please email:
