The Triad Alliance is the best assurance that the special needs of the vulnerable population will be successfully addressed during long and short-term emergency operations. The alliance consists of a number of essential elements that together create a program in which CBOs are more pre-disaster prepared, thus enabling them to better serve their clients during and following a disaster. The organizational components of the Triad Alliance are:

• City: The Emergency Services Division, located in the City Manager's Office, is an active co-founder to the alliance and represents the City in alliance matters and activities. A key objective of the Division's mission is to coordinate emergency response and recovery efforts among city government, school districts, business, community-based organizations, and special districts.
• CARD: The Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disasters, or CARD, is a co-founder of the alliance. This non-profit organization was founded in 1994, with the support of the American Red Cross and United Way. This organization came about as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, when a gap was seen in meeting the needs of the vulnerable populations during and following the quake. CARD's focus is the community's under-served population. CARD has received local, state, national, and international recognition for its model of coordinating disaster planning for at-risk populations.
• CBOs: Community Based Organizations are the third principal member of the alliance and form a direct link to the community's vulnerable population. . . their clients. Two CBOs are selected as lead agencies to represent the City's CBO community. These have special experience, knowledge, and skills necessary in serving their clients; this unique know-how, understanding, and expertise becomes an invaluable resource during the response and recovery phases of an emergency or disaster. The City's emergency strategy becomes more responsive and effective in addressing the human services issues by incorporating CBOs into the City's emergency plan and emergency organization.