Homelessness, Resilience, and Community-based Organizations June L. Gin, PhD Research Health Scientist Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC) December 1, 2015 Advancing and Redefining Communities for Emergency Management San Diego, CA 0
Homelessness and Disasters A Vulnerable Population Unsheltered- vulnerable to environmental hazards Lack resources to prepare, evacuate, recover, disconnected from information Pre-disaster trauma Lack of trust in authorities, especially law enforcement Often excluded from disaster shelters & disaster relief resources Homeless Population Challenges in Prior Disasters 1
CBOs and Homeless Populations in Disasters Small to medium-sized nonprofits and faith-based groups are vital to our nation s disaster response infrastructure. They know the people who need help and are often the only organizations capable of reaching them. - Tony Pipa, 2006 Unique Skill Set as trusted agents for homeless populations Homeless service network is the daily safety net in community CBOs address gaps in government response & recovery Likely to experience surge in demand for services after disaster Tony Pipa, (2006) Weathering the Storm: The Role of Local Nonprofits in the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort, The Aspen Institute 2
CBO Disaster Preparedness Study Examined 6 CBOs in Los Angeles County providing homeless residential (transitional housing) or shelter services 3 CBOs receiving VA funding for housing veterans 3 CBOs not receiving VA funding for housing veterans Interviewed 2 staff members at each CBO: executive and disaster planner Asked: How would a disaster impact your organization & clients? What barriers do you encounter to preparing for disasters? What would help your organization prepare for disasters? 3
Homelessness and the Veteran Population Veterans comprise 11-13% of the adult homeless population in the US 49,933 total homeless veterans in 2014 homeless count Veterans are more likely to be homeless than general population VA commitment to end homelessness- funding to CBOs photo from Shutterstock.com 4
Disaster Impacts the needs of homeless people don t factor in. They are not considered and yet these are probably among the more vulnerable people in the community. And so I think we have to be all the more present to help folks who were homeless before the disaster struck. We get referrals all the time and to put this place out of business is kind of a heartbreak for some military veterans they would have nowhere to go it would leave them completely homeless 5
Barriers to Disaster Preparedness Had disaster plans, but mostly for evacuation only Not enough staff time, funding Lack guidance, templates, partnerships with government We just need some guidance because nobody who works for a homeless agency is an expert in disaster planning.we re searching the Internet for something that s more targeted towards an organization like ours. The earthquake didn t come last year, probably won t come this year. There s no incentive to put this kind of planning in place, to give it high priority. 6
Incentives for CBO Preparedness 1. Catalyst to Motivate Preparedness 2. Outside technical assistance and training 3. Collaboration with peer organizations It s a priority issue. And it s an incentive issue when a funder tells you to do something, that s a powerful incentive. Let s just say we had a pro bono person who was willing to help us do disaster planning. That would be great, because that would be an impetus for us to start to address some of these things. 7
Collaboration with Peer Organizations as Incentive (The leader of the LA Skid Row Interagency Disaster Collaborative) has been a very helpful person with getting us together and getting us involved, and showing just how important it is to her for me, just seeing that has been very helpful to me. So I think she plays a major part in the community as far as disaster planning. June Gin personal photo photo from Shutterstock.com 8
How To Start? Toolkit to Integrate Homeless Populations into Disaster Preparedness, Planning, and Response HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) HUD Special Needs Assistance Programs Office (SNAPS) VEMEC 1. Communications and Coordination 2. Technical Assistance and Training for CBOs* 3. Guidance for Health Care Providers February 2016- Release Date 9
What can we do to help CBOs become more resilient? Are Continuity of Operations Plans the best approach? CBOs learning styles- A Disaster Scenario Exercise? Is community resilience the responsibility of CBOs? Los Angeles Mission photo from Shutterstock.com 10
Homeless Research Collaborators Los Angeles Study of CBO Preparedness: Derrick Kranke, PhD (VEMEC) Rebecca Saia, BA (VEMEC) Aram Dobalian, PhD, JD (VEMEC) Homeless Toolkit: Cheryl Levine, PhD (HHS ASPR) David Canavan (Canavan Associates, HUD SNAPS office) Alicia Gable, MPH (VEMEC) Mangwi Atia, MEd (VEMEC) Aram Dobalian, PhD, JD (VEMEC) Contact: June Gin june.gin@va.gov for more information 11