Description

1) Advancing the Role of Equity in FEMA’s Risk MAP Program
Johanna Greenspan-Johnston, Dewberry, jgreenspanjohnston@Dewberry.com
Co-presenters: Thuy Patton, hongthuy.patton@fema.dhs.gov;

Abstract: This presentation will summarize the historically allocated Regional resources for Risk MAP to establish a baseline for equity and to begin the dialogue on how to advance equity within the program in the future. Like many organizations, FEMA Region 8’s Risk MAP program is working to advance equity in its program design and delivery. The Region is making programmatic changes, adjusting prioritization processes, and sponsoring equity-centered pilot projects. To serve as a foundation for this work, the Region, with support from STARR II, is establishing methods for defining, evaluating, and progressing equity in a way that makes sense for the specific geographic and socioeconomic context. At the onset of this effort, the team hypothesized that the Risk MAP program disproportionately benefits already well-resourced and politically connected communities. The team sought to test this hypothesis by establishing a process for evaluating how equitably the Region has historically allocated Risk MAP resources. This mechanism could also be used as a baseline to track future progress. Initial data-based explorations focused on understanding which communities have received more resources and seen more mitigation benefits from the Risk MAP program, and then how product coverage, quality, and use correlate with factors like social vulnerability and planning capacity. Findings from this effort are leading to a greater understanding of where inequities are present and how inequities may be perpetuated through existing prioritization and decision-making processes. Particularly in the context of Justice 40 and other national initiatives, this work is helping the Region 8 Risk MAP team drive program policy and decision-making in ways that better serve disadvantaged communities.

2) Mitigation in Action Strike Team – A New Approach to Equity
Cindy Wirz, FEMA R6 Mitigation, cynthia.wirz@fema.dhs.gov
Co-presenters: None

Abstract: When FEMA released the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, the message was clear: as an agency we must find ways to reach out to make programs easier to access with a people first approach. To that end, Region 6 Mitigation developed the Mitigation in Action Strike Team or MAST. Specifically, small communities often lack the capacity to interpret, access, or possess the knowledge on who to ask for assistance about mitigation programs. The MAST was piloted in Louisiana communities impacted by Hurricane Ida to address the issue of equity in support of the FEMA Strategic Plan. Mitigation used the Social Vulnerability Index, published by the Centers for Disease Control, and the Natural Risk Index, to identify underserved and underrepresented communities. Mitigation’s Community Education and Outreach spearheaded the MAST project and developed a presentation using plain language, providing an overview of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, including Response, Recovery, Mitigation and Preparedness. The presentation drills down to hazard mitigation, outlining the Community Education and Outreach, Floodplain Management and Insurance, Hazards and Performance Analysis and Grants and Planning programs and how communities can access these programs to be more resilient. For MAST to be successful, the state became our partners to achieve the overall goal of MAST. This partnership strengthened the MAST position and allowed for the “warm introductions” to the identified communities. Besides education, MAST provides a point of contact for the communities to reach back to mitigation to access Subject Matter Experts who can provide general technical assistance on program intricacies. Communities responded favorably to MAST, achieving the objective of the FEMA Strategic Plan of removing barriers to FEMA programs through a “people first” approach. While the MAST is available in Region 6, the goal is for MAST to become a nationwide approach to equity to make mitigation programs easier to access.

3) Shelter From the Storm: Flood Resilience With and for Unsheltered Communities
Jessica Ludy, San Francisco District, US Army Corps of Engineers, jessica.j.ludy@usace.army.mil
Co-presenters: Lindsay Floyd, Lindsay.L.Floyd@usace.army.mil; Alev Bilginsoy, Alev.Bilginsoy@usace.army.mil; Emily Marcil; emarcil@umich.edu

Abstract: More than ½ of a million people across the United States, and over 160,000 people in California experience homelessness today— many of them living in and along river corridors, channels, or adjacent flood risk management infrastructure. During intense storms, unsheltered people face significant risks to their health and safety, their belongings, and to long-term well-being and recovery. At the same time, infrastructure operators haven’t historically had the support, training, or resources needed to both inspect and manage flood control facilities and ensure the well-being of unhoused individuals living near these facilities. Although issues of housing/homelessness and flood control are intertwined, they are often managed by very disparate organizations. With increasing housing insecurity and storm severity, integrated solutions are more important than ever. In 2022, the California US Army Corps of Engineers Silver Jackets team convened a series of interagency and interdisciplinary workshops to advance whole-community flood resilience with a focus on unsheltered households and communities. Flood risk management practitioners, health and human services professionals, personnel from public safety, and advocates for those experiencing homelessness came together for a series of focused panel and brainstorming sessions. They began building a shared understanding of problems and identified tangible actions to give shape to a vision for care-informed flood risk management. This presentation will provide an overview of the challenges and risks associated with flood resilience, infrastructure, and unhoused communities. Participants will learn both about workshop outcomes and tangible actions that flood risk managers can take toward building a more compassionate and human-centered flood resilience practice.