The Scope of Disaster Recovery

DID YOU KNOW?

Understanding the full scope of recovery and the role of Long-Term Recovery is crucial to a good disaster preparedness plan. Disasters tend to unfold in predictable life cycles.

For a small-scale event, this cycle can take months, while for larger disasters, it can take five-to-ten years or more. Having a sense of the scope of a disaster response can help your congregation anticipate needs and consider where in the cycle you are best able to step in and connect, and it can help you pace yourself in your efforts after a disaster.

Throughout every phase, community connections and skills assessments are essential to long-term recovery efforts; collaboration makes this type of work possible! Strong community connections ensure the baton gets passed from phase to phase, and enable us to keep working for the long term. As the proverb goes: If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.

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WE ALL HAVE A STORY TO TELL

Week of Compassion is always excited to hear about your community's projects, plans, assessments, and insights. Where has your church's advance planning served you well? What discoveries have you made that serve your community? How did you personalize a plan to your church's unique situation? What's next in your preparedness and action plan?
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We love hearing from you! Email us with your story (and photos!).

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LEARN & SERVE

A great way to understand the scope of disaster recovery and incorporate disaster preparedness into community discussions and planning is to VOLUNTEER.

When you bring a team to volunteer in a community recovering from a disaster, you see first-hand how long-term recovery unfolds, build connections among your own groups, and even learn valuable skills!

Week of Compassion is collaborating with several partners to continue long-term recovery from disasters dating back to 2017, and is already supporting Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. Become part of the work of recovery and resilience. Visit Week of Compassion's Volunteer page for ways to connect.

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Week of Compassion partner, Children’s Disaster Services is hosting three TRAININGS this spring. Upon completion of training, volunteers will be certified to be deployed to offer respite child care in disaster shelters and resource centers:

–Elkhart, Indiana March 28-29
–La Verne, California April 5-6
–McPherson, Kansas May 2-3

Visit Week of Compassion's Trainings page for more information.
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Week of Compassion has grants available to help offset travel & registration. Email us to apply.