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City of Austin

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Survey results will guide future disaster response strategies

AUSTIN, Texas – The City of Austin continues work to improve response to potential disasters in our area. To better gauge the readiness of our community, Austin Public Health (APH) and the Office of Resilience are partnering to conduct a community survey on public health emergency response. 

The Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) will involve teams going door-to-door in the Eastern Crescent of the City of Austin and Travis County to gather information that will guide our future disaster planning, response and recovery. 

Objectives of the CASPER are: 

  • Understanding the experiences and needs of residents to inform and improve resilience hubs and emergency preparedness, and 

  • Providing community members with disaster preparedness information and resources to enhance community preparedness. 

This assessment will be conducted on Friday, April 14, and Saturday, April 15., from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 

“Our Public Health Emergency Response (PHEP) team is constantly working to improve our strategies in best serving the community, and this assessment will be a great way to hear how our community is best reached and served,” said Ana Urueta, APH PHEP Manager. “I look forward to meeting with our neighbors and expanding our perspective on their needs.” 

Staff and volunteers, in teams of two or three, will ask randomly selected households about their level of disaster preparedness and needs. No personal identifying information will be collected, and the surveys will be completely voluntary. Teams conducting the surveys will be wearing City of Austin vests and carrying identification cards. 

City of Austin Chief Resilience Officer Laura Patiño added, "Our communities do so much to help each other every day, and the City of Austin works to come alongside them and support these efforts. We thank our communities for their participation in this assessment, which will help make sure many city programs, including the Austin Resilience Hub Network, are providing the services and resources that communities need the most. " 

Members of the public with questions about the survey can call APH at 512-972-5555. 

Austin Public Health staff member wearing brightly colored vest used in CASPER survey.

Staff and volunteers will be wearing vests as pictured above

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