CARRI-Gulfport Team Focusing on Six Areas of
Resilience
by Ann Olsen, CARRI Gulfport
Team
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has produced many challenges for the Mississippi Gulf Coast. However,
within those challenges and within the lessons learned, many opportunities present themselves.
The CARRI Gulfport Advisory Group developed a
wide-ranging list of possible areas of focus to increase Gulfport’s resilience. This list is based on their knowledge of the issues
Gulfport faces and their experience with Hurricane Katrina and recovery to-date. In their June meeting, through a process of prioritization, the Advisory Group chose to focus on the following six areas to improve resilience for Gulfport:
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Improving communication and collaboration across all sectors. Much has been accomplished since Katrina to improve
communication and collaboration within the non-profit sector and within the business sector. More work remains to improve the
communication and collaboration across the non-profit, business, faith-based and governmental sectors. Stronger communication across these
sectors will improve response and recovery in the event of a future disaster. It will also strengthen the fabric of the community in ways that
should facilitate economic and community development in the current recovery.
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Individual and family preparedness and
resilience. Overall community resilience will increase as individuals and families become more proactive and responsible in anticipating,
preparing for, responding to and recovering from disaster, and as the community is able to focus attention on assistance to particularly vulnerable
populations. People who are able to care for themselves become better able to take care of others. Other factors that may increase individual
and family resilience will also be explored.
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Affordability of housing.
Community resilience requires an adequate supply of both rental and owner-occupied housing for the individuals (and their families) who are employed
by the local organizations that drive the community’s economic engine. This housing must be both affordable and available within an
acceptable distance. Katrina reduced Gulfport’s housing stock and caused insurers to dramatically raise insurance rates, thus increasing
cost of occupancy for both remaining and replacement housing.
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Expediting return of businesses.
Overall community resilience will increase as business organizations (both for-profit and not-for-profit) become better prepared for disaster
situations and able to return to normal operations more rapidly. Smaller organizations, especially those stretched thin in the current recovery,
are most likely to neglect this important activity.
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Increasing availability of mental health
services. Attention to the mental health needs of citizens and first responders in the immediate aftermath of a disaster is important to
reduce the incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other stress-related illnesses. So too is providing longer term support for
those suffering from symptoms of PTSD and for those dealing with stress or depression as a result of myriad losses and possible economic hardship
during the recovery period. With mental health services already stretched thin, it is important to identify approaches that can
significantly increase service levels.
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Preserving the fabric, culture, history and environmental quality of the community. Resilient communities retain their
citizens and continue to attract new residents with needed skills and abilities. It is important to understand what the community values and
what makes Gulfport a desirable place to live. As the community of Gulfport continues to recover from Katrina, it may choose to invest in
factors which are critical to sustaining its population and attracting new residents. In advance of future disasters, the community may identify
and take steps to reduce longer-term risk to its history, culture and quality of life.
The Advisory Group has now initiated a
process to create roadmaps, consisting of key actions and initiatives, to enhance Gulfport’s resilience in each of the six areas. The roadmaps
will develop in two phases. Phase 1 will center on the first three resilience focus areas: – communication and collaboration across sectors,
individual and family preparedness and resilience and affordability of housing. Lessons learned from Phase 1 will be applied in Phase 2 to
develop roadmaps for the remaining three focus areas.
The Phase 1 effort begins with a
day-long workshop on September 19 in Gulfport. The workshop will involve a diverse cross-section of community leaders who will begin roadmaps for the
first three resilience focus areas. Workshop participants will be invited to join focus area teams over the coming months to fill out the details
of the roadmaps. Once the first set of roadmaps is complete, the Advisory Group will assist with implementation decisions, while simultaneously
carrying out a similar process to develop roadmaps for the remaining three areas. The Phase 2 effort is expected to begin in the first quarter of
2009.
During the roadmap development process, the
CARRI Gulfport team will organize, facilitate and document results of the September workshop as well as subsequent focus area team meetings to
complete the roadmaps. The CARRI Gulfport team will also support and facilitate the Advisory Group in their review of and input to the roadmaps.
Please contact Ann Olsen, CARRI Gulfport Facilitator, at resilientGulfport@merid.org if you have questions about the roadmap development
process or are interested in participating in any way.
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Community
Briefs
Charleston, South
Carolina
The CARRI-Charleston Tri-County Area team held their second
Advisory Group meeting on August 27. The 5 top priority issues areas that were recommended from the community self-assessment meetings will be
presented to the advisory group for them to ratify and prioritize. Those issues are: 1) transportation and mobility; 2) recovery development plan
(including land use planning and business and economy issues); 3) communication and information sharing; 4) roles of schools, churches, neighborhoods;
and 5) structures and infrastructures (housing and emergency shelters).
Memphis, Tennessee Urban Area
The CARRI- Memphis Urban Area (MUA) team presented at the New
Madrid Seismic Zone Conference earlier this month in Rolla, Missouri. CARRI-MUA team member Dr. Arleen Hill gave a presentation
entitled Resilience, Response and Recovery: Societal Components of Catastrophe.
The CARRI-MUA team held the second medical-public health focus
group meeting on August 25, where discussion focused around the resilience tasks the CARRI-MUA team will be working on with the DHS Office of Health
Affairs. Additionally, the CARRI-MUA team will hold a joint meeting with the Mid-South Association of Contingency Planners at the Bartlett Area
Chamber of Commerce for the Bartlett Prime Industry Council.
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