About the Company
With an 80-90% chance of a major earthquake hitting Southern California within the next 20 years and both urban and rural neighborhoods destroyed by wildfires each fire season, it's startling that only about 25% of the state's residents have disaster plans and kits prepared. Even fewer households are ready to meet the specialized needs that young children bring during a large-scale emergency. SAFE BY DESIGN, founded by a Southern California mother, meets these needs, offering educational seminars to guide parents and preparing them for nearly any environmental catastrophe as well as creating individualized disaster kits for families with small children.
"Our primary objective is to educate, to give parents peace of mind, dispelling myths and fears of what could happen when a crisis hits," explains founder Kimberly Walls. "We've found that when armed with an effective action plan and the material to support that plan, we eliminate the fear of the unknown and empower parents, all while reducing the risk and danger to families."
Available in both individual and group settings, SAFE BY DESIGN conducts disaster preparedness workshops at Southern California schools, day care centers, businesses and private homes, teaching people how to plan for the natural disasters that are unique to living in California. Practical information, such as creating a family plan (including what to do if your family members are at school or away from home during the event), furniture placement, how to function during power outages, water safety and earthquake safety are outlined. An overview of special products that need to be on hand for the elderly or children, such as specific foods (baby food and non-refrigerated formula, non-allergenic products), materials (diapers, medication) and comfort items (familiar toys, books) is also included. A separate component of the tutorial discusses how parents and caregivers can minimize a child's physical harm as well as emotional trauma before, during and after an event.
All SAFE BY DESIGN seminars run through a model disaster kit, built to standards recommended by the Red Cross, FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, the Los Angeles Fire Department and the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Every award winning SAFE BY DESIGN disaster readiness professional has been FEMA certified in community emergency readiness.
SAFE BY DESIGN also offers affordable, comprehensive and custom made disaster kits. Private consultation sessions are scheduled to determine the unique and specific needs of the client family, which are then evaluated by SAFE BY DESIGN's disaster readiness professionals who create individualized kits at competitive prices. They also offer the unique service of a personalized home evaluation and disaster planning session to assess a family's needs and interior safety/hazards.
Founder: Kimberly Walls
Kimberly Walls, a FEMA certified community disaster readiness specialist, is founder and CEO of Safe By Design, a company that educates families about emergency preparedness, helps safety-proof their homes, and creates custom disaster kits for the unique needs of individual households and businesses. In addition to implementing the creation of a safe and secure home environment, Kimberly created an organic, vegan baby body care line that is available at major spas and salons worldwide. Ms. Walls shares her experience creating a safe and healthy environment through speaking engagements and workshops held privately and in public venues. She has guest lectured at the Learning Annex and the Pacific Design Center and implemented numerous health-related market research and fundraising projects. She has been a featured speaker on radio and at the 2007 Baby Celebration Expo, the 2006 Whole Children Whole Planet Expo, both held at the L.A. Convention Center, and the prestigious 1999 International Health Conference in Athens, Greece. She is an Honors graduate of University of California-Santa Barbara and currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.
Partners
Disaster preparedness is a group effort. Communities, friends,
families and neighbors come together to protect each other and
themselves. Below are links for additional resources.
Safety links
Emergency Financial First Aid Kit
http://www.operationhope.org/smdev/lf1.php?id=187&frmKeywords=effak&frmCategory=NULL
Related FEMA Publications
http://www.fema.gov/help/publications.shtml
Improving Safety Standards
for Interior Designers
http://www.safeinteriordesign.org/
Home Safety and Art
http://moma.org/exhibitions/2005/safe/
(Southern California Earthquake Center)
www.scecdc.scec.org
(Federal Emergency Management Agency)
www.fema.gov
(California Office of Emergency Services)
www.oes.ca.gov
(American Red Cross)
www.redcross.org
(American Red Cross-Greater Los Angeles Area)
www.acrosla.org
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
www.bt.cdc.gov
(County Public Health)
www.labt.org
(County of Los Angeles)
www.co.la.ca.us
(County Department of Mental Health)
http://dmh.co.la.ca.us
(Governor's Office of Emergency Services)
www.oes.ca.gov
(Los Angeles County Fire Department)
www.lacofd.org
www.ready.gov/