They might as well be wearing superhero capes. Santa Clarita's most influential leaders have come together, on their own time and dime, to make sure area residents are taken care of in the event of a local disaster.

The Santa Clarita Valley Disaster Coalition was formed last year in the wake of local flooding, bringing together a virtual who's who of community leaders including KHTS's Carl Goldman and Jeri Seratti Goldman, the City of Santa Clarita's Gail Ortiz and Adele Macpherson, College of the Canyon's Dianne Van Hook, Valencia Acura's Don Fleming, SCV resident Diane Green and countless others. Their goal: to fill in the gaps, so no one falls through the cracks if disaster strikes.

As our community and the world looked on in disbelief during the lagging government response after the Gulf Coast hurricanes, Santa Clarita's leaders took it upon themselves to plan. City of Santa Clarita Public Information Officer Gail Ortiz was quick to admit the system has gaps, and the coalition is a great way to fill immediate needs, "We understand that sometimes the wheels turn slowly." Thirty-four thousand dollars from the city's general fund have been donated to the coalition.

Members are powwowing once a month at the Santa Clarita Senior Center and are aware their efforts will be secondary in the event of an emergency. "There are plenty of great organizations out there on the front lines of an emergency, and we don't want to step on toes," said Goldman. "We're in a position where we had the trust of a lot of different people, and the ability to connect all the pieces very quickly and very easily. You can accomplish things pretty quickly when you are cutting through the bureaucracy."

On top of planning their role in the event of a local disaster, they have also come to the aid of hurricane victims seeking refuge in Santa Clarita from the Gulf Coast. The DeBose family seems to be making the community their permanent home. Denise DeBose has taken a job as a special education teacher at Northlake Hills Elementary School in the Castaic School District. The oldest of the three boys, Noel Jr., will begin attending College of the Canyons this semester, with his tuition waived. Two other boys, Brian and Stephen, are at Valencia High School and active in the sports program. All sports expenses are being taken care of by local donations.

"The Coalition has paid their rent for three months, donated a car to the family, and we have had many supportive services rendered - dental, vision, computer services, financial counseling, etc.," said Green.

The coalition is also teaming up with the Sulpher Springs school district and Border Books for a valley-wide book drive. Organizers hope to completely re-stock a hurricane-ravaged elementary school library in Houma, Louisiana. Borders agreed to donate an unspecified amount to help with the drive, and planners are hoping to fill up one school's library and move on to another. Ten thousand dollars of the coalition's monies are slated to fund the effort.

Members agree that while helping hurricane victims is taking up much of their time at present, the long term plans for the coalition are firmly grounded in aiding those in the local community.

"Our future plans are to remain a permanent entity in the SCV," Green said. "We will monitor the families that we are assisting for at least one year. We will continue to gather resources to assist us in helping others right here at home, and wherever help is needed." That means immediate aid if there are wildfires, floods, earthquakes or any other local disasters. "The goal has always been local, not national," Goldman said. "Katrina was kind of the exception to the rule. Our main focus is Santa Clarita."

Sleep tight, SCV residents, your local superheroes are on the job.