CPP Elected Official Change Your Mind on Recovery Discussion

*Recovery  is an essential part of disaster management. However, it is not well  supported. I am an elected official that sees far more value in response  assets than recovery needs. Change my mind on the need for recovery.

*What role does community and economic development play in recovery?

it’s a tricky question, so i will send you my classmate post.

My classmate Molly did answer the question, and here is her post,

If  I were to attempt to change an elected official’s mind on the benefits  of investing in recovery strategies, I would first consider my own  position in the EM community and select an appropriate communication  modality. I’ve learned that what someone says and how they say it are  vital, in addition to understanding how the individual being addressed  receives and processes information. Due to this, my language and  presentation would be highly dependent on who I’m addressing. Sending  the message could be accomplished in the form of an email, phone call,  presentation or formal/informal meeting. Therefore, for the purposes of  this discussion board, I’m being intentionally broad with my message  without knowing the details of the community I’m talking about and the  official that I’m speaking with.

Elected Official,

Response  tackles immediate needs and is obviously an important element in  managing a disaster. Our fire department, police department, and EMS  system all work in tandem to handle emergencies and disasters as they  arise in the community. But what happens when they leave after the fire?  Who takes care of the displaced, the injured, the sick once the  response phase is over? The emergency or disaster is the wave that  initially knocks someone overboard and is easy enough to handle, the  flotation ring is the responders, but if there are no tools to dry off  the victim they are left vulnerable to hypothermia. Recovery can be  viewed in the same fashion.

Currently,  there are some areas lacking in our recovery capability toolbox, which  would hinder our community’s ability to get back on its feet. Businesses  and schools would remain closed longer than they should in the event of  a large-scale event, negatively impacting the local economy. Other  communities like ours have been impacted by events that we are also  vulnerable to, and the benefit of preparing to recover after a disaster  is clear. The local economy will bounce back quicker, and our community  will return to normal function faster.

We  need to do all we can do for our constituents in following a disaster  and including a focus on recovery, as well as response, would benefit  everyone affected. I urge you to include aspects of improving recovery  capabilities in your future initiatives, and I’d like to meet to discuss  avenues of improvement and I’m always available to provide input and  answer questions if needed. Thank you for your time.

– Molly Basilio

Depending  on whether or not the elected official was more of an analytical or  emotionally-driven person I would include either personalized examples  of recovery or broader statistics on the benefit of tending to recovery needs. Regardless, I would provide them with FEMA’s Long-Term Community Recovery Planning Process Self-Help Guide. It has a conglomeration of both types of examples that would appeal to both audiences, while also providing an excellent linear process to follow to establish a community-based recovery toolkit.

The  benefits of having a recovery plan are clear and have been the subject  of evaluation for some time by both the federal government and  academics. Economic indicators have been established to be the primary  criteria for recovery success, including business closures,  bankruptcies, and locations, along with consumer buying patterns  (Horney, Dwyer, Aminto, Berke, & Smith, 2017). Additionally,  economic status recovers and communities find their new normals faster  when governments have plans for recovery and participation from their  local stakeholders (FEMA, 2005; Horney, Nguyen, Salvesen, Tomasco, &  Berke, 2016). Again, I would be hesitant to include raw data in my  initial elevator-style pitch, but journal articles like those I’ve cited  would help build credibility for my cause.

FEMA.  Long-Term Community Recovery Planning Process: A Self-Help Guide,  Long-Term Community Recovery Planning Process: A Self-Help Guide (2005).  Retrieved from https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1…

Horney,  J., Dwyer, C., Aminto, M., Berke, P., & Smith, G. (2017).  Developing indicators to measure post-disaster community recovery in the  United States. Disasters, 41(1), 124–149. doi: 10.1111/disa.12190

Horney,  J., Nguyen, M., Salvesen, D., Tomasco, O., & Berke, P. (2016).  Engaging the public in planning for disaster recovery. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 17, 33–37. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2016.03.011