The weather report was coming in over the emergency alert system: Heavy storms. The major road, connecting Sedgwick County to the rest of New York, had flooded. What should happen next? The question came during a trial run of Arbor Housing and Development’s new disaster and continuity plan. Staff at the Corning, New York, network organization knew next steps included initiating communication through Arbor’s new alternate communications channels, which included a text messaging system and an intercom installed to reach all parts of the team’s offices. The plan came together over nine months of working with experts at Pacific Community Solutions, an opportunity made possible through NeighborWorks® America and a grant awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Community Development Initiative. There was a reason that disaster preparedness and business continuity were at the top of the NeighborWorks network organization’s wants and needs.

September is Disaster Preparedness Month, a time where U.S. residents are encouraged to take steps – both big and small – to prepare for emergencies and disasters, which are increasing in both cost and scope. This year’s theme is Preparedness Starts at Home, with organizations, including the federal government, offering ideas about creating a family emergency plan and more.

Lori Gay has led California’s Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles County, a NeighborWorks network nonprofit with a focus on revitalizing neighborhoods, for three decades now. During that time, she’s helped her community through adversities that have included the mortgage crisis, fires, earthquakes, riots and a pandemic. For the past five months, Los Angeles County has been in the spotlight again as wildfires ripped through Altadena and the Pacific Palisades. We asked Gay to share a few thoughts about leading during times like this.

In 2020, a storm hit central Virginia that left residents without power for several days. One of Piedmont Housing's properties was without heat, and residents couldn't travel to replenish supplies or charge their phones. So when staff at the Charlottesville nonprofit, together with the community, had a chance to put in protections for residents as part of a redevelopment project, they did. The result will be seen in a new community resource center, part of a larger redevelopment of Friendship Court, recently renamed by residents as Kindlewood.

In 2020, a storm hit central Virginia that left residents without power for several days. One of Piedmont Housing's properties was without heat, and residents couldn't travel to replenish supplies or charge their phones. So when staff at the Charlottesville nonprofit, together with the community, had a chance to put in protections for residents as part of a redevelopment project, they did. The result will be seen in a new community resource center, part of a larger redevelopment of Friendship Court, recently renamed by residents as Kindlewood.

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