Overview

Neighbors Helping Neighbors Create Disaster-Resistent Communities... Building by Building, Block by Block

Senator Hillary Clinton and Empowerment Institute CEO, David Gershon holding the All Together Now workbook

If Hurricane Katrina had hit New York City causing an extended blackout or need for evacuation would the residents in your building or block have been ready? If the avian flu or a terrorist incident occurs in New York City will you and the residents of your building or block know what to do? These threats are not the fiction of Hollywood’s imagination, but the actual reality of our daily lives as New Yorkers. While many of us accept this as the new description of our world, few of us have done anything to prepare ourselves, neighbors, buildings or blocks.

One of the foremost lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina was that many lives could have been saved and social disorder reduced if residents had prepared themselves for that disaster. Over the past two years this is exactly what a pioneering group of 3,800 New Yorkers located in 40 buildings and blocks throughout the five boroughs have been doing. Participating in a pilot program called All Together Now, they have systematically developed disaster resilient communities at the building and block level.

This program was developed by Empowerment Institute (experts in community-based behavior change and disaster preparedness) in partnership with the NYC Office of Emergency Management. Funding for the pilot came from a congressional appropriation secured by Senator Hillary Clinton through the US Department of Justice. Borough presidents, community boards, coop and condo boards, building and block associations and a number of city agencies and community-based organizations provided leadership and support for this initiative. Much was accomplished and learned.

Households were motivated through the easy-to-use program to prepare themselves and their families for emergencies. They purchased extra food, water and flashlight supplies to last 3 to 7 days. They created evacuation kits, called “go-bags,” which they could use if they had to evacuate their homes with very short notice. They developed a plan for how to relocate their family and loved ones if they were separated. They learned how to shelter in place in case of a biological or chemical attack. They formed teams of neighbors to support one another in taking these actions and to serve as a support system in an emergency. They identified and helped the elderly and disabled in their building or on their block prepare and create evacuation plans. And they created building or block committees to sustain these changes.

Claresa Fisher, a building leader, described her experience. “I found the program exceptional and incredibly important. It provided structured detail on how to prepare for potential emergency situations. It was simple and did not make a stressful process overwhelming. The support and communication with my team was extremely helpful. I am so over committed in my life, if I can do this anybody can.”

Another participant Deborah Queller, said: “I was impressed with the organized layout of the materials. The individual actions were terrific. Each one was easy to do and the step-by-step outline was very user-friendly. The presentation allowed me to calm down about the ‘what ifs.’ My favorite part was the meetings. I got a lot of ideas and felt very supported by the group.”

The program has shown so much promise that funding was secured from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to help it prepare to scale up city-wide. Currently Empowerment Institute is recruiting, training and coaching 20 volunteer program managers from around the city to lead this program in their communities. For more information click here.

The premise of the program is simple. Taking prudent precautions against blackouts, natural disasters, terrorism and emergencies is nothing more than a form of insurance. The program’s title, All Together Now, reflects the belief that by far the best insurance is the group insurance you get from teamwork, because our neighbors security is tied to our own.

Should we take reasonable steps to protect ourselves and families against these risks? This choice seems clear. It is better to have a plan for an emergency that doesn’t happen then to have an emergency but no plan.

The steps that make the most sense in preparing for an emergency are a good idea, anyway. These actions will restore the kind of personal and community resiliency to our lives that we never intended to give up. What could be more important in today’s world than to live in a building or on a block where the residents are working together to create a strong and resilient social fabric. Living in a disaster resilient building or block represents the new quality of life indicator for New Yorkers. This is not only the ultimate defense against disasters, but a great way to build relationship rich buildings and blocks that can improve our quality of life right now.

The time we live in requires us to radically rethink our urban expectation of dependency and separation. What the future will bring is uncertain, but what is certain is that being prepared and connected will enable us to face that future with greater confidence and security.