Join 'Ready Now: Emergency Preparedness Made Simple' – A Campaign for Emergency Preparedness Month

Emergency Preparedness Month is already in full swing, and we’re excited to share that ReachWell has partnered with the Center for Inclusive Design and Engineering (CIDE) for the Ready Now: Emergency Preparedness Made Simple campaign. This initiative is focused on ensuring that individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) have the tools and knowledge they need to confidently prepare for emergencies.

Emergency Preparedness Month: A Time to Take Action

September is Emergency Preparedness Month, a time when communities nationwide focus on preparing for potential disasters. For individuals with IDD, the challenges of emergency preparedness are unique, often involving barriers to accessing and understanding critical information. That's why the Ready Now campaign is committed to making preparedness simple, accessible, and effective for all.

Throughout the month, Ready Now will be sharing valuable resources designed for individuals with IDD and their caregivers, including:

• Practical tips on preparing for various emergencies.
• Step-by-step guides for creating personalized evacuation plans.
• Engaging content on accessing and organizing medical supplies and responding to emergency alerts.

The goal is to ensure that every person in the IDD community has the tools they need to stay safe and protect their loved ones during a crisis.

Why ReachWell is the Perfect Partner for Emergency Preparedness

We are proud that CIDE has joined the ReachWell platform to enhance their ability to communicate with the community during emergencies. ReachWell’s unique features make it a powerful tool for emergency agencies looking to connect with diverse populations:

• Multilingual support in over 130 languages, ensuring no community member is left behind due to language barriers.
• Privacy-first communication with no need for an account, phone number, or location sharing, making it easy to access critical updates.
• Real-time emergency alerts, allowing agencies to send critical updates and gather feedback from the public.
• Accessibility for all, including those with limited tech literacy, ensuring inclusive communication across the board.

These features make ReachWell an essential tool for emergency management, enabling agencies to deliver timely and accessible information to every resident, regardless of language or technical capability.

How You Can Get Involved

It’s not too late to join the Ready Now campaign and ensure that emergency preparedness is inclusive and accessible to all. You can explore helpful resources and learn more about how to get involved by visiting the CIDE website. Additionally, you can stay updated by following CIDE on Facebook and Instagram, where they are sharing important tips and updates throughout Emergency Preparedness Month.

Stay Connected with ReachWell

To make sure you have the most up-to-date emergency preparedness information, download the ReachWell app today and add CIDE as a channel. With ReachWell, you’ll receive real-time notifications in your preferred language, without the need to create an account.

How to Get Started:

1. Download the ReachWell app from your app store.
2. Set your language preference.
3. Add CIDE to your channel list.



By joining the Ready Now campaign, you are playing a key role in helping make emergency preparedness more inclusive for everyone. Together, we can build safer, more resilient communities during Emergency Preparedness Month and beyond.