Disaster phases are cyclical and intersecting: effective relief helps recovery; mitigation supports preparedness. The guidelines below emphasize shelters, where the issues are most acute, but apply to non-shelter programs and to coalitions. Collaborative action by shelters, coalitions, and emergency responders throughout these phases will best support an integrated community response to women in crisis during disaster.

Shelters: staff, volunteers, and board members

• Assess local hazards and shelter vulnerability; evaluate the structural safety of physical facility
• Prepare space appropriately, e.g. computer bracing, heavy objects secured, shutters
• Rotate stored emergency food and water to sustain each person for 72 hours
• Identify safe evacuation sites and transportation options
• Designate staff responsibilities and develop personnel policies for disaster work
• Develop signed protocols with related agencies for mutual support
• Equip emergency kits for residents and staff
• Counsel residents on self-protection and evacuation options
• Provide disaster training for staff, board, volunteers; include residents as appropriate
• Develop, review, and practice disaster plan

Coalitions: state/provincial association staff and board members

• Support program preparedness through fundraising and modeling
• Develop contingency plans for non-interrupted service to programs
• Provide or facilitate disaster planning for member programs
• Develop, review, and practice disaster plan for coalition office

Practitioners: emergency planners and responders in the public and private sectors

• Include coalitions and member programs in disaster communication networks
• Link emergency communications with shelters
• Assist programs in identifying alternative evacuation sites

Shelters: staff, volunteers, and board members

• Support the choices of residents during the crisis
• If feasible and safe, accompany residents home to secure vital documents and possessions
• Transport residents to safe evacuation sites as feasible
• Provide continuous program services as feasible

• Provide respite care for impacted staff, emergency supplies, and equipment as feasible
• Coordinate communication between member programs
• Advocate for impacted programs with emergency responders and decision-makers

• If necessary, assist with resident evacuation to established or alternate sites
• Provide transportation assistance for critical shelter staff needed on site
• Establish emergency communications with shelters on a priority basis
• Contact shelter manager to use extra shelter space, if feasible and safe
• Access trained domestic violence staff as stand-by responders

Shelters: staff, volunteers, and board members

• Help residents access all forms of available disaster relief
• Advocate for clients through recovery process, e.g. temporary housing, insurance, medical services
• Assist disaster hotline workers as feasible
• Use shelter resources to house homeless women and children as feasible
• Increase children’s services and counseling for impacted residents
• Increase outreach to affected neighborhoods in service area
• Publicize program resources through disaster assistance centers and community hotlines
• Develop or join collaborative interagency disaster response initiatives

• Facilitate critical incident stress debriefing or post-disaster trauma counseling for staff or residents
• Assess needs of impacted programs
• Coordinate coalition assistance to impacted programs
• Advocate for impacted programs distribution of disaster relief and recovery funds
• Identify non-governmental disaster recovery funding sources
• Redistribute coalition resources as needed to assist impacted programs

• Consult shelter staff on continuing needs of impacted women through recovery
• Respect the anonymity of shelter residents applying for relief
• Include battered women in assessments of long-term recovery process
• Provide shelter information and resource materials in disaster relief centers

Shelters: staff, volunteers, and board members

• Develop or join emergency response networks for nonprofits and social service providers
• Include disaster awareness in life skills materials for shelter residents
• Include disaster contexts in public education on domestic violence
• Use media outlets to publicize domestic violence resources in disaster contexts
• Identify shelter needs and capacities for local disaster managers
• Assess needs of vulnerable groups of women in shelter, e.g. undocumented women, disabled
• Participate in area emergency drills
• Cross-train staff in disaster skills through Red Cross/Emergency Social Services as feasible
• Recruit and retain board members, staff, and volunteers from disaster response agencies

Coalitions: state/provincial association staff and board members

• Provide leadership and resources to member programs on disaster planning
• Integrate disaster crisis issues into other coalition projects
• Add gender and disaster materials to resource library
• Provide public education on violence in disaster
• Access state or provincial emergency organizations for resources
• Integrate disaster issues into domestic violence training materials
• Include disaster responders in coalition programming, as appropriate
• Provide domestic violence training/materials for state, provincial, and local disaster responders

• Identify battered women and children as a special needs population
• Include local programs in communications networks, planning groups, and exercises
• Encourage personal and organizational networks with domestic violence programs
• Facilitate training of outreach mental health teams and volunteer disaster responders in violence and disaster issues
• Facilitate training of domestic violence staff on disaster response
• Assist shelters and other women’s services developing organizational disaster plans