Education Meets Adaptation: Learning with Our Communities in Disaster Preparedness Workshops

By Olivia Johnson, CRC Environmental Storytelling Intern

With a passion for justice and a deep understanding of local needs, Climate Resilient Communities’s (CRC) Resilient Readiness Manager Chase Donnell wants to prepare our communities for disaster—in whatever form it arrives. Catastrophe isn’t something you can quantify; metrics measuring sea level change, seismograms of earthquake activity, and data on immigrant deportations fail to represent the immeasurable impact of disaster on individual lives. Seeing this, CRC seeks to fill in knowledge gaps for the residents we serve, equipping them with tangible tools to bounce back from an emergency and with methods for managing emotional distress in times of uncertainty.

Distributing readiness supplies to workshop attendees.

Since October 2023, Donnell and the greater CRC network have been running disaster preparedness workshops in areas like Belle Haven, North Fair Oaks, and San Bruno, totaling four events a year. In Donnell’s words, these workshops aid in assisting communities “where there has been resource attrition” or where local governance is unable to meet escalating needs. These workshops are designed to be directly accessible to the communities they serve, held in local event spaces and community centers. In these spaces, knowledge is co-produced: CRC and other professionals offer services for disaster preparedness, and the community offers feedback on what resources will work and which are most valuable to them. 

To ensure CRC is effectively responding to community needs, the Resilient Readiness team works closely with CRC’s Climate Change Community Teams (CCCTs), which are led by frontline residents in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Their insights have proven invaluable, spurring structural changes in these disaster preparedness workshops.

One new addition is the inclusion of public health workers from institutions like Stanford University Medical School in disaster preparedness workshops. California faces several natural disasters, each growing more severe as a result of climate change. Extreme heat, wildfires, and flooding have both direct and indirect  impacts on human health. Recent workshops have incorporated presentations from doctors and medical professionals that inform residents of the effects of natural disasters on human health, from wildfire smoke exposure causing respiratory irritation to heatwaves instigating migraines and fainting spells. These workshops inform residents on the physical effects of natural disasters and teach our communities how to manage them in the moment they unfold. 

During the same workshops, a volunteer from Catholic Charities—an organizational partner of CRC—runs CPR triage training, equipped with a half mannequin and technology that measures pushing rate. This puts physicians, first responders, and climate justice activists at the table with the residents who are already feeling the impacts of an escalating climate crisis. Donnell notes that many workshop attendees don’t have health insurance, making it all the more crucial they receive information from medical practitioners about managing disaster-related ailments independently. 

CPR training at a disaster preparedness workshop.

Given that the goal of these workshops is to protect our communities from disasters outside of their control, CRC has placed an emphasis on preparing attendees for social and political turbulence. A new subcommittee has been created under Donnell’s lead, with multiple CRC staff mobilizing to protect the residents we serve. Together, this committee has participated in trainings available online and in person through rapid response networks to learn about best practices and resources available. This work has led to the development of tailored safety and emergency response plans for the large gatherings we host, as well as the creation of informational resources that help our community understand their rights during interactions with immigration services or police. With dedicated staff capacity, our team is equipped to stay informed and support one another and our residents in public spaces. Having worked alongside these communities for almost ten years, we know resilience is created when community members know and advocate for one another, which is something Donnell believes “North Fair Oaks, Belle Haven, and East Palo Alto all do very well.” Thus, it’s CRC’s mission to maintain and continue cultivating this sense of togetherness so that communities feel supported if disaster occurs.

One thing often neglected in disaster preparedness is the emotional response communities have to such events. Whether it be a family member suffering from disaster-related illness or losing family heirlooms in a fire, these losses can bring up a range of feelings: from shock to anger to guilt. In CRC’s journey to develop an all-encompassing disaster preparedness course, CRC has begun including presentations from partnering organizations about grief after natural disaster. Donnell states that after disaster, many find themselves in a “reconstruction period,” making it even more vital to emotionally prepare for these events.

Information sharing about how best to prepare for and respond during natural disasters.

What’s most important about the CRC disaster preparedness program is that it not only equips communities with resources to manage the unexpected, but instills a confidence to do so even without the support of major institutions. CRC provides the framework for how to respond if disaster strikes, but it will be our communities who have to live this vision out. One of the largest tangible benefits of disaster preparedness workshops is that CRC helped install two new solar generators into Belle Haven community buildings so residents can still access power and communicate via WhatsApp when disasters occur. As our environment—both natural and constructed—evolves, the needs of the community will as well. CRC is committed to adaptation: reshaping our programs to ensure preparedness stays relevant, responsive, and grounded in local wisdom.