In 2021, many parts of the country were still in pandemic lockdowns. Older adults were instructed to isolation, leaving many without access to healthcare or the ability to obtain food. In addition, residents of Canada's westernmost province, British Columbia, as the region experienced catastrophic conditions due to extreme heat, fires and floods.

Please see this 7-part series from the Vancouver Sun: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/fire-and-flood-bc-facing-two-extremes. The disparate response and lack of coordination between communities has been well-documented.

As such, we are looking to obtain a differing perspective on disaster response, specifically from a US-based school program, as it relates to both the strategic design and the tactical response. We know that both community organizations and older adults themselves have a role to play, and the need for disaster preparedness education and planning is essential.

We welcome the perspectives of the US Military.

CanAge is looking for recommendations from two lenses:

1. Evidence-based recommendations on how to establish a community organization-based network and communications plan to best coordinate a tactical response to provide aid to older adults.
2. Recommendations in the form of a "resource guide" created for an older adult audience, on how best to plan and prepare for disasters.
3. We are flexible on the design of this project and would be pleased to discuss further to ensure that this makes a good placement for your students.

We are only too happy to provide:

• A briefing document along with a facilitated overview of the important themes and needs for the project
• Any key messages, target audiences and available creative assets to help them understand the brand
• A single point of contact (POC) assigned to your course and students, with a team of experts available for questions
• Access to Slack, Google Workspace, and some other project management tools. We welcome the students so they can feel as though they are part of the team, or at arm's length - whatever is best.
• *For those running courses outside of Canada*, we'll provide guidance and direction for the students to better understand the Canadian business (and geographical) landscape, along with openly available sources of data that could be useful in making their assessments.
• Recognition of the school's involvement and the students' work in a media release (if permitted) and attribution of the students' contributions via LinkedIn or references as required.