Hurricane season 2017 Harvey, Irma, and Maria—each storm spreading more devastation across the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Many months later, communities are still recovering—especially Puerto Rico, where our government has outright failed its citizens. Our climate is obviously changing, and the resulting storms are intensifying: tornadoes, floods, even earthquakes (probably unrelated to climate, but now a new threat in areas with heavy fracking). We do not seem to be particularly well-prepared. There are official response agencies with mandates to rescue, feed, heal, and rebuild; however, the true first responders are always people who live in the affected regions: neighbors and community leaders. After 2017’s hurricane season, a network of people formed with interest in improving the capacity for disaster response to more effectively support local priorities and leadership in times of crisis. Together, this network and Public Lab are now calling for the convening of people who have worked together through crises such as Sandy, Harvey, Irma, Maria, and the like.

Together, we will share experiences and skills, explore ways to promote equity and justice through modern crisis response, and build resources for community-first response on Friday, June 13, and then continue the conversation over the weekend of Barnraising: Saturday, July 14, and Sunday, July 15.

Read more in this blog post.