Introducing the London Communities Emergencies Partnership

Addressing emergencies in London is demanding. The scale and complexity of the city, as well as the huge range and diversity of its charities and community groups, requires significant resources, knowledge and information sharing. It also needs organisations with expertise in emergency response as well as charities and groups with vital local knowledge about communities who can apply this when an emergency strikes..

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Dealing with Surplus Donated Goods

At times of emergency, whether that be the Afghan evacuation, war in Ukraine, or heatwave fires in the summer, the public’s generosity often leads to a large influx of donated items. Havering Volunteer Centre has been involved in all three of these responses and has witnessed the challenges that surplus donated goods can bring. Their CEO, Shelley Hart, explored this complex issue with us and discussed what they’ve learnt from dealing with this issue three times in the past year.  

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Deaf awareness in emergency preparedness and response

It is thought that between 11 and 12 million people in the UK have some form of hearing loss, with between 900,000 and 1.2 million of these people being severely or profoundly deaf. It is therefore imperative that we reflect on how inclusive our preparedness planning is by looking at how people who are deaf or hard of hearing have been affected by previous emergencies and considering how they could be impacted in the future.

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Why is diversity so important in emergency preparedness?

When an emergency strikes it can be anything from hyperlocal to regional, national to global and this means that the number and demographic of people affected can also vary greatly. It is vital that there is diversity in emergency planning and preparedness to represent the different communities who may be affected and therefore try to reduce the disproportionate impacts within society.

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Is the cost-of-living crisis quickly becoming a national emergency?

At the beginning of 2022, Age UK’s charity director, Caroline Abrahams, warned the government that rising fuel bills could be a national emergency for older people. In April, National Energy Action, a national fuel poverty charity, said fuel poverty was becoming a “national health emergency.” Similarly, Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said that, “By failing to make benefits payments realistic for the times we face, the government now risks turning the cost of living crisis into a national emergency.” There is clear concern from national charities as to the impact that the current cost-of-living crisis will have on the most vulnerable in society.

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Five years on from the Grenfell Tower fire

Today feels very heavy. I’m sure all of us have seen at least one article or tweet or comment today that takes us back to that horrible night and following day when the smoke bellowed across West London. 72 people lost their lives, and it is the stories from the families, the survivors, neighbours and communities who loved and lost those 72 people and continue to feel the impact of that night, that still hits the hardest.

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