Building Safer Futures Together: Emergency Preparedness in the Newcomer Sector
Emergency preparedness is essential for Service Provider Organizations (SPOs) that support newcomers, as it ensures the continuity of vital services like housing, employment, and language support during crises. Being prepared helps protect vulnerable clients and staff, fosters trust within the community, and enables coordination with emergency services for an effective response. It also supports compliance with funder requirements and minimizes risks to people, facilities, and data. Ultimately, strong emergency planning allows SPOs to provide reliable, life-stabilizing support to newcomers when they need it most.
Emergency Preparedness Guide by the Government of Canada
A comprehensive guide detailing steps by the Government of Canada to prepare for emergencies, including creating a family emergency plan and assembling an emergency kit.
Alberta’s Emergency Preparedness Guide
An official Alberta government website provides practical tools, checklists, and guidance to help individuals and organizations prepare for emergencies such as wildfires, floods, and power outages. A key resource for building readiness and resilience.
What to do in an emergency:
The Newcomer Guide to Preparing for an Emergency
This guide offers insights into creating emergency plans, assembling kits, and understanding local emergency procedures, specifically designed for those new to Canada.
Emergency Preparedness for Newcomer-Serving Agencies
A one-page tip sheet with simple, practical, and budget-free tips to help agencies strengthen their emergency preparedness plans.
Emergency Preparedness for Organizations and Businesses
A web-based emergency preparedness planning program that helps organizations become better prepared to respond effectively and recover quickly from disasters and other emergencies.
Public Safety Canada – Emergency Preparedness
Practical guides and checklists for emergency planning, tailored to organizations and community groups.
Resources for Responding to Emergencies and Disasters
Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) provides a comprehensive collection of resources aimed at helping individuals and communities respond to emergencies, disasters, and infectious disease outbreaks. The resources are designed to support mental health and resilience during crises such as wildfires, floods, pandemics, and traumatic events like shootings or terrorist acts. The content includes fact sheets, coping strategies, and guidance for various audiences—including caregivers, children, teens, and community leaders.
Jasper Wildfire: Lessons Learned Report
This document provides an in-depth look at the key lessons learned from the Jasper wildfire response. It outlines challenges faced, effective strategies used, and recommendations to improve future wildfire preparedness and emergency coordination.
AAISA COURSES
Psychological First Aid (PFA) Course
Psychological First Aid (PFA) is an evidence-informed approach to help children, adolescents, adults, and families in the immediate aftermath of a disaster/emergency. Individuals affected by a disaster or traumatic incident, whether survivors, witnesses, or responders to such events, may struggle with or face challenges following the event. PFA is designed to reduce the initial distress and to foster adaptive functioning and coping and is designed for delivery in diverse settings. In this course, settlement workers will learn the fundamentals of PFA, recognize common stress reactions for those impacted by disasters/ and or emergencies, learn the decision-making processes for referrals to health support and community-based services, and provide practical support to newcomers experiencing distress.
Audience: Settlement and Integration sector workers
The PFA course is offered annually. Be sure to check the latest information on course dates, schedules, and registration details as they become available, please refer to the AAISA website or click here.