[Resilience Committee on August 10, 2026.]
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IT'S ALSO IN THE AREA.AND THEN WE'VE GOT STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS, JACKSON, RAMIREZ, AND THOMAS'S OFFICE.
SO, WELCOME AND, UH, THANK Y'ALL FOR BEING HERE ON THIS MONDAY MORNING, KIND OF OUTTA ORDER, BUT SUMMER VACATIONS GET US AND WE HAVE TO SHUFFLE THE DECK A LITTLE BIT.
UM, I'M EXCITED TO HEAR FROM OUR FRIENDS TODAY, UH, FROM, FROM, UH, THE TEXAS GULF COAST REGIONAL VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATION, ACTIVE IN DISASTER.
I JUST SAY VOAD, SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT EASIER.
UM, AND HERE ON BEHALF OF, OF VOAD TODAY IS MISS ANDY COOK WITH THE, JUST SERVE MY FRIENDS FROM JUST SERVE, WHICH I'M SO EXCITED TO, TO, UH, SEE THIS PARTNERSHIP.
AND ANDY IS VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE CHAIR.
AND THEN GARY FLATTERY IS HERE AS WELL.
WE'RE EXCITED TO HEAR YOUR PRESENTATION.
I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN WORKING HARD AND AS ALWAYS FOR HOUSTON, SO THANK YOU.
COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE INVITATION TO BE A PART OF YOUR RESILIENCE COMMITTEE TODAY.
UM, IF WE COULD HAVE OUR SLIDES, UH, PRESENTED HERE.
SWITCH SYSTEMS. WE WERE JUST TALKING, WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT THAT THEY EVIDENTLY SWITCHED THIS SYSTEM OR SOMETHING'S UPDATED, OUTDATED, YOU KNOW, THAT IT WE'RE FINE.
NO PROBLEMS. SO, IN THE MEANTIME, HOW WAS HAWAII
WE'VE GOT 'EM UP JUST IN TIME.
YOU DIDN'T, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO BE QUESTIONED ABOUT HAWAII.
ALWAYS HAPPY TO BE QUESTIONED ABOUT HAWAII.
SO, UH, TEXAS GULF COAST, TXGC VOLUNTEERS.
THOUGHT INFO IS AN OFFICIAL WEBSITE THAT WE'VE CREATED, UH, BY THE TEXAS GULF COAST REGION VOAD, AND IT'S A UNIFIED DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR COORDINATING DISASTER RELIEF, VOLUNTEERING ACROSS THE 13 COUNTIES OF THE GULF COAST REGION.
THE CENTRAL MISSION OF THIS SITE IS TO ACCELERATE AND THE RELIEF AND RECOVERY IN COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY DISASTERS ALONG THE THIS REGION.
THIS IS ACHIEVED THROUGH THE COLLABORATION OF TEXAS GULF COAST REGION VOAD, JUST SERVE AND VOLUNTEER HOUSTON.
THIS SITE STREAMLINED SPONTANEOUS VOLUNTEER MOBILIZATION, ENSURING VETTED ASSISTANCE, REACHING IMPACTED AREAS EFFICIENTLY.
IT PRIORITIZES OEM AND LOCAL AGENCY NEEDS, AND IS ACTIVE IN DISASTERS.
UH, AS YOU ALL RECALL, 2024 WAS A TOUGH YEAR.
WE WERE HIT HARD, UH, APRIL AND MAY.
WE EXPERIENCED HEAVY RAINS, WHICH CAUSED TREMENDOUS FLOODING IN EAST TEXAS.
IN MAY, WE WERE HIT WITH THE DERECHO CAUSING POWER OUTAGES, TREES DOWN FLOODING, FOOD, WATER SHORTAGES.
AND THEN ON THE HEELS OF THIS, IN JULY, WE HAD HURRICANE BARREL, WHICH BROUGHT MORE POWER OUTAGES, MORE DAMAGE, AND IN THE HEAT WAVE, MORE HEAT, FOOD AND WATER SHORTAGES.
IN SHORT, WE EXPERIENCED COMPOUNDED DISASTERS.
AS A RESULT OF THESE BACK-TO-BACK, UM, DISASTERS, WE EXPERIENCED GREAT VOLUNTEER SHORTAGES.
A LOT OF THE SAME ORGANIZATIONS WERE RESPONDING OVER AND OVER.
THEY CARRIED MUCH OF THE NEED.
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SKILLED VOLUNTEERS.WE NEEDED A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS WHO COULD SAW, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO COULD TARP, UH, WORK WITH ROOFS.
AND, UM, THEY WERE NOT, UH, THEY WERE NOT PLENTIFUL.
AND THEN OUR RECORDING, OUR RECRUITING, UH, POOLS WERE VERY SHALLOW.
OUR VOLUNTEER GROUPS, LIKE WE SAID, EXPERIENCED FATIGUE.
AND, UM, BY THE END OF AUGUST, WE HAD A HARD TIME TRYING TO FIND ENOUGH VOLUNTEERS TO MEET THE NEEDS.
UM, VOLUNTEER HOUSTON HAS DONE A REMARKABLE JOB AT, UM, DESIGNING A DISASTER RESPONSE PLATFORM THAT WILL TAKE THE, UH, SPONTANEOUS VOLUNTEER USER DIRECTLY TO, UM, THE NEEDS OF THAT DISASTER.
THEY'VE CREATED A BANNER THAT WILL COME UP ON EACH DISASTER, AND YOU JUST CLICK ON THE BANNER, IT WILL TAKE YOU TO ALL OF THOSE NEEDS, AND THEY'LL BE PRIORITIZED, UH, ACCORDING TO OEMS AND, AND VOAD, UH, RESPONSES.
UM, JUSTER HAS A PLATFORM, UH, VERY SIMILAR IN NATURE.
UM, JUSTER WILL THEN LINK, THEY HAVE THE SAME DISASTER BANNER THAT WILL, FOR THAT EVENT THAT WILL LINK THE INDIVIDUAL TO THE WEBSITE OF THE, UH, RESPONDING ORGANIZATION.
SO THEY'LL CONNECT PERSONALLY WITH THAT WEBSITE.
THE TX GC VOLUNTEERS.INFO BRINGS BOTH OF THESE PLATFORMS TOGETHER ON ONE SITE.
SO THE VOLUNTEER JUST GOES IN THERE AND THEY CAN EASILY ACCESS THOSE NEEDS THAT ARE HIGHLY PRIORITIZED BY THE VOAD AND OEMS, AS WELL AS OTHER NEEDS.
THERE ARE SOME NEEDS THAT ARE REMOTE THERE, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT INDIVIDUALS CAN DO FROM HOME.
UM, I KNOW THERE'S INDIVIDUALS THAT REALLY WANNA HELP IN WAYS THEY CAN BE ON CALL CENTERS.
UH, THERE'S THINGS THAT THEY CAN DO THAT THEY DON'T PHYSICALLY HAVE TO BE OUT THERE.
UM, AND THEN THE TEXAS, THE VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE FOR THE TEXAS GULF COAST REGION, BOA HAS DEVELOPED SOME TOOLS TO HELP ORGANIZATIONS AS THEY CREATE TEAMS, WHICH IS OUR REAL GOAL HERE IN CREATING TEAMS THAT ARE SKILLED AND READY TO RESPOND.
UM, AND THESE TOOLS WILL HELP, UH, MANAGE THESE, UH, VOLUNTEERS AS WELL AS HELP PROVIDE A, UH, CREATE A BETTER AND MORE POSITIVE VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE SO THAT WE CREATE, UH, REPEAT VOLUNTEERS.
UH, YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS SLIDE THAT, UM, THE TEXAS GULF COAST REGION IS NUMBER 11 IN COST PER BILLIONS OF DISASTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
THE GULF COAST REGION IS 27% OF THOSE DISASTERS OF THAT, UM, PERCENTAGE OF THAT DISASTER IN THE, JUST THROUGHOUT OUR 13 COUNTIES.
SO THAT'S A LARGE AMOUNT OF, UM, MONEY AND FUNDING THAT'S GOING TOWARDS RECOVERY EFFORTS IN OUR DISASTERS.
WE HAVE SPECIFIC NEEDS, LIKE WE SAID, UM, DURING 2024, WE NEEDED PEOPLE TO SAW TREES.
UM, AND WE FOUND THAT A LOT OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS THAT DID RESPOND TO THOSE WERE SORELY LACKING IN SPONTANEOUS VOLUNTEERS AND SKILLED VOLUNTEERS.
WHAT OUR VO, OAD VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE HAS DONE IS WE'VE CREATED A, UH, DOCUMENT THAT HAS A DESCRIPTION OF THESE HIGHER SKILL LEVEL TYPES OF ROLES.
AND WE'VE BROUGHT IN OUR ED ORGANIZATION, SENT THIS DOCUMENT TO THEM AND HAD THEM VET IT, EDIT IT, AND MAKE SURE THAT THESE DESCRIPTIONS REALLY, UM, ARE REFLECTING THE NEEDS THAT THEY HAVE IN THEIR VOLUNTEERS.
AND THEN WE FOUND FROM WHICH ORGANIZATIONS, UH, THOSE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE AND WILLING TO TRAIN SPONTANEOUS GROUPS, UH, TO BE READY IN ADVANCE FOR THESE SORT, UH, CERTAIN NEEDS.
SO THERE IS A PLACE FOR EVERYONE, UH, AND, UM, THERE WILL BE, UM, AS, AS THESE VOLUNTEERS, UH, EXPLORE THE SITES, THERE WILL BE SOMETHING FOR EACH TYPE OF VOLUNTEER.
UM, WE ARE REACHING OUT TO MANY, ANYBODY, VIRTUALLY ANYBODY WHO WILL BE WILLING TO VOLUNTEER SPONTANEOUSLY.
BUT WE, LIKE I SAID, OUR GOAL IS TO CREATE TEAMS FROM CERTAIN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS THAT THEY'RE READY AND TRAINED AND WILLING TO RESPOND FIRST.
THE FIRST GROUP THAT WE'RE, UH, APPROACHING ARE FAITH-BASED COMMUNITY, AND THEY ARE ALREADY, SO MANY OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS ARE ALREADY SO ACTIVE.
UM, BUT THEY HAVE SUCH A GREAT REACH AND THEY HAVE, UM, A LOT OF CONFIDENCE WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITY.
SO WE'RE, UH, WE'RE REALLY LOOKING TOWARDS SPEAKING WITH THESE TYPES OF CONGREGATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS IN RALLYING AND RECRUITING.
THE SECOND GROUP IS, OF COURSE, LARGE CORPORATIONS AND COMPANIES.
WE KNOW THAT CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY, UH, HELPS THESE, UH, CORPORATIONS FEEL MORE RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS
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THE, UM, COMMUNITIES AND SUPPORT OF THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY LIVE.AND IT BUILDS, UH, TEAM BUILDS THEIR TEAMS TOGETHER AND BUILDS UNITY WITHIN THEIR EMPLOYEES AS THEY RESPOND, AND THEY SERVE TOGETHER.
UM, THERE'S SO MANY OF THOSE THAT WE HAVE LOCALLY, UH, THAT ARE LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES, WHETHER THEY BE YOUTH GROUPS OR WHETHER THEY BE, UH, ADULT GROUPS.
BUT THERE ARE WAYS THAT THEY CAN SERVE.
AND SO WE WANNA MEET, REACH WITH THEM AND MEET WITH THEM AND HELP THEM IDENTIFY THOSE AREAS IN DISASTER RESPONSE THAT IS BEST SUITED FOR THEIR, UH, SPECIFIC GROUP.
UM, IN SHORT, AS I SAID, WE'RE REACHING OUT TO ANY ORGANIZATIONS, UH, AND THAT OUR ROLE IS, UH, AS A VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT WORK GROUP FOR VOAD IS TO MEET WITH ORGANIZATIONS.
IF YOU HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS, GARY, I'LL GO A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO THAT AS TO HOW WE'RE GOING TO APPROACH AND WHAT, WHAT OUR PLAN IS GOING FORWARD, WHAT WE HAVE DONE, UH, AREAS THAT WE HAVE COVERED.
WE APPRECIATE THE CITY OF HOUSTON BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN SO VERY ENGAGED.
I'VE BEEN IN THE AREA FOR 30 YEARS, AND I REMEMBER THE HUGE HURRICANE WORKSHOP AT, UH, UH, THE GRB FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
AND THE TREMENDOUS, UM, REALLY WHAT A SUPPORT THAT IS TO NEW PEOPLE MOVING IN AS A NEW, AS A NEW PERSON IN THE AREA.
I HAD NO CLUE THAT THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN WHERE I MOVED TO.
AND I ENCOURAGED ALL OF MY NEW FRIENDS THAT MOVED IN THE AREA TO ALSO ATTEND THIS.
AND I KNOW A LOT OF YOUR, UM, DISTRICTS ARE HOLDING, UM, INDIVIDUAL ONES FOR THOSE WHO HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING DOWNTOWN, OR IT'S A MORE PERSONALIZED THING ON THE DISTRICT, WHICH WE REALLY APPRECIATE.
AND WE'RE HERE TO HELP SUPPORT.
AND IF YOU NEED ANY HELP IN, YOU KNOW, IN ORGANIZING OR ARRANGING OR WHATEVER YOU NEED IN THOSE, WE ARE HERE TO HELP.
BECAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT PREPAREDNESS.
WE REALLY WANT OUR COMMUNITIES TO FEEL THE, UM, THE NEED TO PREPARE IN ADVANCE, BECAUSE IF THEY'RE PREPARED, THEY CAN HELP THEIR NEIGHBOR, THEY'RE BETTER ABLE TO SUPPORT THEIR COMMUNITY AND THOSE AROUND THEM.
AND WE'RE REALLY, UM, WE'RE HOPING TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT MESSAGE, UH, AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE WITH YOUR HELP.
I WILL TURN THE NEXT SLIDES OVER TO CARRIE.
ALRIGHT, SO ANDY KIND OF WENT THROUGH THE, THE, THE BIG PICTURE AND THE ASK AND THE PRESENTATION THAT WE, UH, TALKED TO ALL THESE GROUPS ABOUT.
BUT WHETHER YOU'RE A FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATION, UH, A CORPORATION OR, UH, A CIVIC ORGANIZATION, UH, THE NEXT STEP IS THE ASK.
AND THIS IS WHAT WE ASK THEM TO DO.
UH, THE FIRST ONE IS SIMPLY TO GIVE US TWO POINTS OF CONTACT, UH, BECAUSE ONE OF THEM IS UNDOUBTEDLY ON VACATION WITH ANDY IN HAWAII,
UH, BUT, UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE TWO POINTS OF CONTACT SO WE CAN ALWAYS CONTACT THEM.
UH, AND THEN THERE'S THREE LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION THAT WE RECOGNIZE.
UH, THE ENTRY LEVEL, IF YOU WILL, IS SIMPLY MAGNIFY OUR ASK WHEN IT'S TIME.
UH, AND THIS IS ONE WHERE THAT CORPORATION OR CIVIC GROUP OR FAITH-BASED GROUP PUTS OUT THE INFORMATION TO GO TO TX GC VOLUNTEERS.INFO, SIGN UP FOR ONE OF THOSE VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES, UH, AND SERVE.
AND SO WE NEED THEM TO SPREAD THAT WORD.
WHERE WE HOPE THAT THEY MOSTLY LAND ON IS TIER TWO, UH, WHERE THEY ACTUALLY DEVELOP TEAMS TO GO.
UH, SO THEY GET MATCHING T-SHIRTS, THEY ORGANIZE THEMSELVES AS A TEAM, GET EXCITED ABOUT IT, AND THEN WE, THEY SHOW UP WITH A TEAM OF FIVE, OR BETTER YET, TWO TEAMS OF FIVE OR THREE TEAMS OF FIVE, UH, OR A TEAM OF TWO.
AND WE PUT THEM TOGETHER AS A TEAM TO GO OUT AND WORK WITH ONE OF OUR BOAD ORGANIZATIONS.
WHEN THEY WORK WITH THAT BOAD ORGANIZATION, THEY'RE GONNA GET GREETED WHEN THEY COME IN THE DOOR.
THEY'RE GONNA GET A SAFETY BRIEFING SO THAT IF THEY HAVE 10 FINGERS AND TOES WHEN THEY ARRIVE, WE LEAVE THEM WITH 10 FINGERS AND TOES, UH, AND THEY'RE GONNA GET TRAINING ON HOW TO DO THE JOB, AND THEY'RE GONNA HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS.
AND THEN TO MAKE SURE THE TRAINING STICKS, WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE, UH, THAT THERE'S A, A SUPERVISOR THERE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY GET THOSE LITTLE REINFORCEMENTS THROUGHOUT THE DAY THAT THEY MEET THE CLIENT AND HAVE A GREAT TIME.
UH, AND ULTIMATELY, AT THE END OF THE DAY, THEY HAVE A GREAT EXPERIENCE AS A GROUP.
THEY MAY BE FIND SOME NEW MUSCLES THAT HAVE NO NAMES THAT START TO HURT.
UH, AND IN SPITE OF THAT, THEY'RE REALLY EXCITED TO COME BACK AND DO THIS AGAIN.
THE THIRD TIER IS WHERE, UM, THEY HAVE ENOUGH CONFIDENCE IN REACTING TO THIS, UH, THAT THEY DECIDE THAT THEY WANNA DO IT THEMSELVES.
THEY WANNA PUT TOGETHER TEAMS, UH, WE'LL HELP 'EM GET THE RIGHT TRAINING, HELP 'EM GET THE RIGHT SAFETY ORIENTATION, UH, HELP 'EM GET ACCESS TO THE TOOLS, WHETHER IT BE CRISIS CLEANUP, UH, OR, UH, CONNECTIVE OR THE I STAT TOOL.
UH, SO THEY CAN GO OUT AND SERVE THEIR COMMUNITY.
THEY MIGHT START BY SERVING THEIR EMPLOYEES AND THEN BRANCH OUT TO THE NEIGHBORS OF THEIR EMPLOYEES, RIGHT? UH, SO WE MAKE SURE THEY HAVE THE RIGHT SKILLS TO DO IT PROPERLY, SAFELY, AND REACH OUT.
WE EXPECT MOST PEOPLE TO SIGN UP IN, IN, UH, TIER TWO.
UH, AND WE'RE JUST PRAYING THAT WE'LL HAVE OVER TIME, SOME THAT'LL ACTUALLY EVOLVE INTO A KIND OF A TIER THREE OPERATIONS.
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UM, THE BIGGEST ASK FOR THEM, SHARE THE OPPORTUNITIES, UH, WHICH BASICALLY MEANS WHEN YOU SIGN UP, WE'VE GOT SOME PRO FORMA, UH, NOTIFICATIONS THAT THEY CAN SEND OUT.CUSTOMIZE IT FOR YOUR, YOUR FAITH-BASED GROUP, FOR YOUR CORPORATION, FOR YOUR CIVIC GROUP.
PUT IT IN YOUR BOTTOM RIGHT HAND DESK DOOR, AND DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT UNTIL WE NEED TO ACTIVATE.
AND THEN YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING READY TO GO AT THE MOMENT, WE, WE NEED TO ACTIVATE.
UH, WE ASK THEM TO RESPOND WHEN VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED, UH, TO PARTICIPATE IN TRAINING AND NETWORK EVENT, UH, AS WE HAVE THOSE, UH, AND TO HELP US GROW A CULTURE OF SERVICE, UH, ACROSS GREATER HOUSTON.
SO THIS IS, IT'S A LONG-TERM EFFORT TO REALLY INCREASE OUR VOLUNTEER PROFILE AND THE WAY WE RESPOND.
SO, JUST GOING THROUGH THESE TIERS.
UH, GOING THROUGH THESE TIERS REAL QUICKLY.
UH, ON THE INDIVIDUAL SIDE, THEY PROVIDE THE TWO CONTACTS.
THEY ESTABLISH A PROCESS WITHIN THEIR ORGANIZATION FOR NOTIFYING THEIR EMPLOYEES, THEIR CONGREGANTS, THEIR MEMBERS.
UH, THEY ENCOURAGE MEMBERS, UH, TO SERVE WHEN THEY'RE ASKED.
UH, AND THEY PROMOTE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES WHEN WE HAVE THEM.
UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY GIVE US SOME ESTIMATE OF THE LIKELY VOLUNTEER PARTICIPATION THAT THAT PART IS CRITICAL, BECAUSE WE MAY HAVE AN EVENT THAT WE NEED 50 VOLUNTEERS FOR, OR WE MAY HAVE AN EVENT THAT WE NEED 500 VOLUNTEERS FOR.
SO WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO ACCESS WHO WE'RE OR KNOW WHO WE'RE ACCESSING.
UH, SECOND SLIDE TWO IS THE MORE EXCITING ONE, OR TIER TWO.
UH, HERE'S WHERE WE GET THE TEAMS TOGETHER, UH, AND WE ENCOURAGE THEM TO, UH, PUT TOGETHER T-SHIRTS HAVE AN IDENTITY WHEN THEY SHOW UP TO THE WEB, TO THE EVENT.
UH, USUALLY IT'S GOING TO BE EMPLOYEES AND ONE OF THEIR MORE, THEIR SUPERVISORS THERE.
UH, SO THAT'S ALWAYS, ALWAYS GOING TO BE A LOT OF FUN.
OUR VO ADS LOVE IT, BECAUSE WHEN THEY SHOW UP THAT WAY, THEY ALREADY HAVE AN AFFINITY WITH EACH OTHER.
AND BECAUSE THEY'RE WORKING WITH EACH OTHER, THEY'RE, THEY HAVE AN EXPECTATION ON EACH OTHER OF WORKING HARD, UH, AND SHOWING OFF THEIR, THEIR ORGANIZATION.
AND WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT WHEN WE GET TO THAT POINT.
AND THEN, AGAIN, TIER THREE, UH, IS WHERE, UH, NEXT SLIDE, UH, IS WHERE WE BRANCH OFF ON THEIR OWN, UH, AND WE HELP THEM GAIN THE CONFIDENCE IN THEIR DOING SO THAT THEY KNOW, WHETHER IT'S SITCO OR JP MORGAN OR HALLIBURTON, THEY CAN PUT TOGETHER A TEAM THAT KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING, KNOWS HOW TO INTERFACE WITH THE CLIENT, CAN DO THAT ON THEIR OWN AND SERVE, AND REALLY BASICALLY BECOME A FUNCTIONING MEMBER OF THE BOAD AT THAT POINT DURING A RESPONSE.
NEXT SLIDE, KIND OF TYING THIS IDEA TOGETHER IS THE FACT THAT NO ORGANIZATION CAN HELP EVERYONE.
WE KNOW THAT IT'S, IT'S GOING TO TAKE ALL OF US TO HELP EVERYONE, UH, BUT TOGETHER WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE SOMEONE THAT'S AVAILABLE TO HELP EVERYONE.
AND SOME OF THESE WE MAY NEVER EVEN KNOW ABOUT, RIGHT? BUT WE WORK TO TRAIN THEM, WORK TO GET THEM READY, UH, AND SO THEY CAN HELP EVERYONE AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO JOIN US BEFORE THE NEXT DISASTER.
AND AS ANDY POINTED OUT IN HOUSTON, WE GET A LOT OF REPS.
THERE'S LIKELY TO BE ANOTHER DISASTER.
SO, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR ACTION PLAN AS WE GO FORWARD.
UM, THE BIGGEST THING WE NEED IS WE NEED A NETWORK THAT'S HANDING US, UH, CONNECTIONS AND REFERRALS.
IT IS HARD TO FIND THE RIGHT PERSON WITHIN A COMPANY THAT CAN DO THIS, RIGHT? SO IF Y'ALL HAVE CONNECTIONS TO A COMPANY THAT MAY KNOW THAT LANDSCAPE WITHIN A COMPANY AND WHO THE PLAYERS ARE AND WHO WE CAN CONTACT, THAT WOULD BE TREMENDOUSLY HELPFUL.
AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS.
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF RECRUITING TEAMS FROM WITHIN THE BOAC.
UH, PICKED UP TWO MORE PLAYERS THE OTHER DAY AT, UH, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, UH, RECOVERS, UH, BUT RECRUITING TEAMS, TEAMS OF TWO TO GO OUT AND MEET WITH, UH, THE ORGANIZATIONS.
UH, WE'RE PARTNERING WITH A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS, AND I NEED TO APOLOGIZE FOR THIS UPFRONT.
I PUT THIS, THIS LIST TOGETHER, UH, LAST WEEK, AND IT HAD HOPES OF CLOSING ALL THESE.
AND I HAVEN'T, UH, UNITED WAY WE'RE WORKING WITH VERY CLOSELY.
I, I REALLY BELIEVE THEY'RE COMMITTED GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP.
WE'RE HOPING TO, UH, NAIL THAT ONE DOWN THIS WEEK.
UH, HOUSTON RESPONSE IS COMMITTED TO, UH, ASSOCIATING, UH, ASSOCIATING WITH US.
AND WE'VE CONTACTED THE ASTROS FOUNDATION.
WE'RE WORKING TO, TO, UH, TO SOLIDIFY THAT RELATIONSHIP.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? WE'RE LOOKING FOR THOSE REFERRALS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT.
AND SOME OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS WE'RE LOOKING FOR MAYBE A COUPLE PERSON TEAM THAT COULD HELP US WITH SOME OF THE COLD CALLING AND HELP US RECRUIT VOLUNTEERS TO DO IT.
THE LAST LEG OF THIS PLATFORM PLATFORM IS WORKING WITH THE, THE NONPROFITS THEMSELVES.
UH, OUR NONPROFITS BETWEEN, UH, EVENTS, UH, THEIR FUNDING TENDS TO DISAPPEAR.
SO THEY, THEY KIND OF GO ON AUSTERITY BUDGETS.
UH, WE REALLY WANNA MAKE SURE THEY'RE AS HEALTHY AS THEY CAN BE AND HAVE PLANS BEFORE THE EVENT, UH, ON HOW THEY'RE GOING TO GREET PEOPLE, HOW THEY'RE GOING TO DO A SAFETY BRIEFING, HOW THEY'RE GOING TO DO THEIR TRAINING, AND HOW THEY'RE GOING TO ASSURE THAT EVERY VOLUNTEER
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HAS AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE.UH, SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM ON THAT, MAKING SURE THEY HAVE LIABILITY WAIVERS IN PLACE, UH, MAKING SURE THAT THEY'VE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW THEY'RE GONNA DO BACKGROUND CHECKS TO TAKE IN A LARGE NUMBER OF SPONTANEOUS VOLUNTEERS.
UH, MORE THAN HALF OF THEM ARE WILLING TO TAKE ON SPONTANEOUS VOLUNTEERS.
UH, WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GIVE THEM A POOL OF VOLUNTEERS SO THAT WHEN THE NEXT DISASTER STRIKES, WE CAN RAMP UP RAPIDLY AND SERVE AS MANY HOUSTONIANS AS WE CAN.
SO KIND OF TYING, OR NEXT TO LAST SLIDE, TYING IT ALL BACK TOGETHER AGAIN.
NO ONE CORPORATION CAN DO IT ALL.
UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY HAS SOMEONE.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR, UH, REFERRALS FOR US, UM, PLEASE CONTACT ANDY AT TX GC VOLUNTEERS INFO, UH, AND ME ALSO AT GARY@TXGCVOLUNTEERS.INFO, OR G FLAHARDY@TGCBOAD.ORG.
AND WITH THAT COUNCIL, THANK YOU.
UM, JUST TO CLARIFY, UH, YOU MENTIONED MY ASTROS FOUNDATION.
HAVE YOU HEARD BACK FROM THEM? UH, NOT YET.
UH, WE'LL, WE'LL GET ON THAT ONE.
UM, AND, AND JUST SORT OF AS AN FYI ON THAT GROUP, OF COURSE, THAT WAS GRASSROOTS EFFORT.
AND WHEN I RETIRED, WE HAD 3,500 VOLUNTEERS, AND THEY'RE ALL BACKGROUND CHECKED.
SO WE MAKE SURE THAT THAT PROCESS AND IT'S STILL MAINTAINED, SO WE CAN COMMUNICATE ON THAT, BECAUSE I, I HAVE A, A, A, A, WHAT IS IT? A DIRECT LINE TO THE BEELINE.
SO
UM, I, I THINK YOU SHARED THAT DIRECT LINE.
AND SO, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, MOST IMPORTANT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO.
YOU KNOW, IT KIND OF GOES ALONG QUIETLY, AND THEN IN A TIME OF NEED, YOU KNOW, YOU FLIP THAT SWITCH, AND, AND THIS IS SUCH AN, JUST SUCH A, A HUGE PART OF THE SUCCESS OF RECOVERY.
UM, AND CERTAINLY ANDY JUST SERVE, I, I ALWAYS GO BACK TO HARVEY WHEN THERE WERE THOUSANDS, THOUSANDS OF BLUE T-SHIRTS.
AND I, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST THE POWER OF VOLUNTEERING AND THAT YOU TELL TWO FRIENDS AND SO ON AND SO ON.
AND SO, I'M HAPPY TO PUT THE WORD OUT.
UH, CERTAINLY IF YOU CAN, UH, SEND US SOMETHING DIGITALLY, UH, THAT WE CAN SHARE EITHER SOCIAL MEDIA AND NEWSLETTERS, HAPPY TO SHARE THAT WITH THE REST OF THE COUNCIL, UM, BECAUSE IT'S CERTAINLY THE NEED IS THERE.
AND LIKE YOU SAID, YOU WANNA PREPARE BEFORE, BEFORE SOMETHING HAPPENS.
AND I KNOW YOU'VE, YOU'VE PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO THIS AND, AND FOR A LONG TIME.
AND THANK YOU, BECAUSE I, I KNOW FIRSTHAND WE COULDN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, RAMIREZ'S OFFICE HAS A QUESTION.
UM, SO ON THE REFERRALS, UH, IF YOU WANNA HAVE US GLANCE AT YOUR FAITH-BASED LIST AND YOUR CIVIC GROUP LIST, WE CAN SEE IF WE ARE CONNECTED TO OTHER INSTITUTIONS THAT MAYBE YOU'RE NOT ALREADY AND HAPPY TO CONNECT YOU THERE.
NO, WE REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
WE'LL REACH OUT AND HAVE A TEAM OF TWO.
ANDY AND I WILL PROBABLY ACCOMPLISH THAT.
WE, WE WILL ACCOMP ACCOMPANY THOSE TEAMS OKAY.
ON THEIR FIRST PRESENTATIONS TO MAKE SURE WE'VE GOT A CONSISTENT MESSAGE GOING OUT THERE.
BUT, UH, AND WE DO HAVE A LIST WE'LL BE LOOKING FORWARD.
COUNCIL MEMBER, RAMON, THE ONLY OTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS, UM, SO YOU'RE DEVELOPING THIS AWESOME ROBUST VOLUNTEER GROUP, AND THEN HOW DO YOU FIGURE OUT WHERE TO DEPLOY THEM? LIKE, HOW DO YOU KNOW, HERE'S THE NEED OR HERE'S THE OEM, LIKE WHAT'S THE COLLABORATION? YEAH, SO, UM, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF GROUPS THAT ARE GONNA DEPLOY AROUND THEIR AREA.
IF YOU TAKE A CIVIC GROUP OR A FAITH-BASED GROUP, THEY, THEY COME WITH A TERRITORY THAT THEY SERVE.
AND WHAT WE ASK THEM TO DO IS, IS SERVE THEIR CORE, SERVE THEIR LEADERSHIP THAT INCREASES THEIR CAPACITY, SERVE THEIR MISSION AREA.
THEY'RE THE ONES THAT THEY NORMALLY SERVE, BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT EXPECT THEM, UH, TO SERVE THEM.
AND THEN AS SOON AS EVERYTHING'S OKAY IN THEIR BACKYARD, IF YOU WILL RAISE YOUR HAND, AND WE'VE GOT A PLACE TO SEND THEM OUT OF TOWN.
GROUPS THAT COME IN, WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE INFLUENCE OVER.
UH, SO FOR THEM, UH, WE'LL GET A CALL FROM TEAM RUBICON OR ALL HANDS AND HEARTS, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO REDIRECT THEM TO THE AREAS THAT NEED THE MOST HELP.
UH, THERE, WHAT WE NEED IS, UM, WE GET INPUT FROM THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.
SO WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM DURING A DISASTER TO UNDERSTAND THE INTERSECTION OF WHERE THE DISASTER OCCURRED AND WHERE THE MOST VULNERABLE POPULATIONS ARE, UH, THOSE AREAS.
WE, WE FLAG AND STAR, UH, AND STAR ON THE SITE.
UH, SO WHEN YOU GO TO TX GC VOLUNTEERS, YOU'LL SEE AN ASTERISK OR A STAR OR A SYMBOL ON THAT ENTRY, AND THAT'LL INDICATE THAT IT'S A GROUP THAT'S SERVING IN ONE OF THOSE VULNERABLE AREAS.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO GENTLY REDIRECT THE VOLUNTEERS IN THAT DIRECTION.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL REDIRECT OUR VOLUNTEER GROUPS IN THAT DIRECTION.
UH, LOCAL GROUPS, AGAIN, THEY'LL RESPOND TO THEIR BACKYARD FIRST, WHICH IS AS THEY SHOULD, BUT AS SOON AS THEY'RE DONE WITH THAT, WE ENCOURAGE THEM TO RAISE THEIR HAND AND WE HAVE LOCATIONS FOR THEM TO SERVE.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT COULD HELP US IN THAT PROCESS,
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UH, IN, IN THOSE VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES, IF THERE'S A PLACE THAT THEY CAN STAY, UH, IF THERE'S A PLACE THEY HAVE SHOWERS OR, OR, UH, UH, A PLACE THEY CAN SLEEP AT NIGHT, PREFERABLY AIR CONDITIONING, PREFERABLY, PREFERABLY WITH SOME PLUGS, UH, GROUPS CAN COME BY AND OFFER TO SERVE THEM A MEAL OR JUST COME BY IN THE AFTERNOON AND TELL THEM THANK YOU.UH, THOSE THINGS ARE JUST INFINITELY IMPORTANT, UH, FOR THESE GUYS THAT ARE OUT THERE RESPONDING.
UH, SO THOSE ARE THE TWO THINGS I THINK THAT CAN, CAN REALLY HELP US GET THE VOLUNTEERS TO THE AREAS THAT WE TRADITIONALLY HAVE OVERLOOKED.
AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON TRYING TO IMPROVE OUR PERFORMANCE IN THOSE AREAS.
IF I COULD ADD TO THAT TOO, FOR THOSE, UH, GROUPS THAT ARE OPTING TO, UM, PROVIDE SKILLED VOLUNTEERS, UM, WE WILL BE CONNECTING THEM WITH ORGANIZATIONS WITHIN THE VOAD PRIOR TO ANY DISASTER, SO THAT THEY'LL HAVE THAT RELATIONSHIP BUILT.
AND SO THEY'LL KNOW IMMEDIATELY, UH, WHO TO CONTACT, AND THEY'LL BE A PART OF THEIR NETWORK IN RESPONDING TO THE DISASTER.
AND SO, UM, YOU'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH INTERFAITH MINISTRIES? YES, ALWAYS.
UM, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD, AND CERTAINLY THE INFORMATION, WHATEVER YOU CAN SEND US, WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THE, AND I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS.
UM, SO THAT'S BETWEEN THE SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD, THE CIVIC GROUPS.
AND REALLY WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO IS GET IN THOSE POCKETS OF ALL AREAS SO THAT THESE, BECAUSE OFTEN WHEN A DISASTER STRIKES, YOU CAN'T REALLY LEAVE YOUR AREA, YOU CAN'T GET OUT ON THE FREEWAYS OR, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A, A, A CERTAIN AREA THAT YOU KINDA STICK CLOSE TO HOME AND THAT, SO YEAH.
HOWEVER, WE CAN HELP YOU GET THE WORD OUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE READY, WILLING, AND ABLE.
ALSO, TOO, JUST TO NOTE, WE'VE BEEN JOINED BY STAFF FROM, UH, LET'S SEE, THAT'S COUNCIL MEMBER MARTINEZ AS OFFICE, AND AS WELL AS COUNT AS MAYOR PRO TIMM, UH, MARTHA CASTEX, TATUM STAFF IS ONLINE.
DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF SPEAKERS WHO'VE SIGNED UP, BUT WE'LL TAKE THE SECOND PRESENTATION AND THEN WE WILL LET THEM ASK QUESTIONS.
SO THANK Y'ALL FOR BEING HERE.
NEXT UP, BAKER RIPLEY, OUR FRIENDS FROM BAKER RIPLEY.
JOE FUENTES, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, AND RANCHO WITTY, SENIOR MANAGER OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE.
THERE'S SO MUCH RESILIENCE GOING ON AROUND THIS CITY WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS.
I HOPE WE'RE, WE, WE ARE STRONG.
IT'S AMAZING TO HEAR THE WORK YOU DO.
SO FIRST OF ALL, GOOD MORNING, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND SPECIAL THANK YOU TO COUNCIL MEMBER CARTER FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND YOUR AMAZING STAFF FOR MAKING THIS ALL COME, YOU KNOW, COME TO FRUITION.
AND, UM, FOR THE OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO PRESENT ON, UM, YOU KNOW, THE BAKER RIPLEY STRATEGY AND OUR RESILIENCE PROGRAM.
AS MENTIONED, MY NAME IS JEFF FUENTES, UH, PROUDLY SERVE AS THE DIRECTOR FOR COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AT BAKER RIPLEY.
AND I'M JOSIA WHITTY, AND I'M THE SENIOR MANAGER OF RESILIENCE FOR BAKER RIPLEY.
I WOULD LIKE TO START, BEGIN WITH THE QUESTION.
IF A MAJOR DISASTER, UH, IMPACTED HOUSTON TOMORROW, WOULD OUR COMMUNITIES BE READY? NOT JUST GOVERNMENT, NOT JUST NONPROFITS, BUT OUR COMMUNITIES.
HOUSTON HAS ALWAYS BEEN RESILIENT, BUT RESILIENCE DOES NOT HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT.
IT IS BUILT THROUGH TRUSTED RELATIONSHIPS, STRONG INSTITUTIONS, LOCAL LEADERSHIP AND INVESTMENTS MADE LONG BEFORE DISASTER OCCURS.
AT BAKER RIPLEY, WE BELIEVE RESILIENCE IS FUNDAMENTALLY A COMMUNITY ISSUE.
TODAY, WE WOULD LIKE TO SHARE HOW BAKER RIPLEY IS HELPING STRENGTHEN HOUSTON'S RESILIENCE AND WHY THE INVESTMENTS WE MAKE TODAY WILL DETERMINE HOW OUR COMMUNITIES RECOVER TOMORROW.
SO THE CHALLENGE, HOUSTON'S DISASTER REALITY.
SO THESE ARE FACTS THAT Y'ALL ARE WELL AWARE OF, UM, THAT WE SEE ALL THE TIME.
UH, WE'VE, HOUSTON HAS, HAS EXPERIENCED NINE FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTERS SINCE 2015, MORE THAN ALMOST ANY US CITY.
AND WE HAVE LISTED HERE SOME OF THE DISASTERS THAT WE'VE COME ACROSS.
UH, WE KNOW THAT FEMA'S ROLE IS SHRINKING, SO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY AGENCIES MUST FILL THAT GAP.
SO WE ALL DEFINITELY FEEL THAT PRESSURE.
UH, OUR BAKER RIPLEY RESILIENCE TEAM IS FAIRLY NEW.
UH, BUT JOE HAS A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE.
UH, I'VE BEEN WITH BAKER RIPLEY FOR ABOUT EIGHT YEARS, AND STARTED AS A VOLUNTEER DURING HURRICANE HARVEY FOR, UH, BAKER RIPLEY, AND HAVE BEEN PART OF ANY DISASTER RECOVERY THAT WE'VE DONE.
UH, WE'RE BEING MORE INTENTIONAL ABOUT PREPAREDNESS WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
AND SO WE'RE EXCITED TO TALK ABOUT, UH, SOME OF THAT WORK
[00:30:01]
THAT WE'RE DOING WITH YOU TODAY.UM, AND THEN OF COURSE, WE KNOW THAT WHO BEARS THE BURDEN IS OUR MOST VULNERABLE RESIDENTS, UM, SMALL BUSINESSES AND UNDERSERVED DISTRICTS.
UH, AND SO THESE ARE ALL DIFFERENT DISASTERS, BUT IT'S THE SAME LESSON.
DISASTERS EXPOSED THE VULNERABILITIES THAT ALREADY EXIST WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES.
EVERY CHALLENGE PRESENTS AN OPPORTUNITY, AND EVERY DISASTER GIVES US A CHOICE.
WE CAN REBUILD WHAT EXISTED BEFORE, OR WE CAN REBUILD SOMETHING STRONGER.
AT BAKER RIPLEY, WE BELIEVE RESILIENCE IS NOT LIMITED TO DISASTER RESPONSE.
RESILIENCE IS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
IT IS TRUSTED RELATIONSHIPS, CONNECTED SYSTEMS. EVERY WORKFORCE PROGRAM, EVERY SENIOR SERVICE, EVERY YOUTH INITIATIVE, EVERY FINANCIAL COACHING SESSION, EVERY COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP, EVERY COMMUNITY CENTER STRENGTHENS COMMUNITY CAPACITY AND STRONGER COMMUNITY CAPACITY, ULTIMATELY CREATES STRONGER RESILIENCE.
ONE OF BAKER RIPLEY'S GREATEST STRENGTH IS THAT OUR RESILIENCE INFRASTRUCTURE IS ALREADY INTEGRATED ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH OUR EAST ALDING CAMPUS, THE RIPLEY HOUSE, AND EAST IN THE EAST END.
OUR GOLFED AND SHARPENED SHARP SOUND, CAMPUS, PASADENA CAMPUS.
TOGETHER, THESE CAMPUSES SERVE OVER 110,000 RESIDENTS ANNUALLY AND REACH COMMUNITIES ACROSS MULTIPLE CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
THEY CONNECT RESIDENTS TO OPPORTUNITY, OPPORTUNITY THROUGH EDUCATION, OPPORTUNITY THROUGH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, OPPORTUNITY THROUGH FINANCIAL WELLBEING, OPPORTUNITY, THROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DURING DISASTERS, THOSE SAME CENTERS BECOME RESILIENCE HUBS.
HOUSTON DOES NOT NEED TO CREATE AN ENTIRELY NEW COMMUNITY RESILIENCE NETWORK.
THE FOUNDATION ALREADY EXISTS.
THE OPPORTUNITY BEFORE US IS ULTIMATELY TO STRENGTHEN IT.
BAKER RIPLEY OCCUPIES A UNIQUE POSITION WITHIN HOUSTON'S REIL RESILIENCE ECOSYSTEM.
WE ARE A VALUED COMMUNITY INSTITUTION, A SERVICE PROVIDER, A CONVENER, AN ADVOCATE, AND ONE OF THE REGION'S LEADING NON LONG-TERM DISASTER RECOVERY ORGANIZATIONS.
BUT ONE OF OUR GREATEST RESILIENCE ASSET IS NOT A BUILDING.
TRUST AND CONFIDENCE CANNOT BE BUILT DURING A DISASTER.
FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, BAKER RIPLEY HAS BEEN BUILDING HOUSTON'S RELATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNITIES.
WHEN DISASTERS OCCUR, TRUST AND CONFIDENCE ALLOW US TO MOVE QUICKLY, COORDINATE EFFECTIVELY, AND CONNECT NEIGHBORS TO THE RESOURCES THEY DESPERATELY NEED.
PERHAPS NO ASSET BETTER DEMONSTRATES BAKER RIPLEY'S RESILIENCE STRATEGY THAN OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS.
AS MOST OF Y'ALL KNOW, WE HAVE FOUR COMMUNITY CENTERS THROUGHOUT HOUSTON, UH, THE GREATER HOUSTON AREA, SO ONE UP NORTH IN EAST ALDEEN, UH, ONE, UH, IN THE EAST END, RIPLEY HOUSE, SOUTHWEST GOIN SHARPSTOWN, AND OUR PASADENA CAMPUS.
AND ANNUALLY, WE SERVE A HUNDRED AND ABOUT 110,000 NEIGHBORS AT OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS.
UH, WE DO HAVE LISTED HERE SOME COSTS OF ESTIMATED GENERATOR COSTS FOR EACH COMMUNITY CENTER.
UH, SO JUST TO CLARIFY, THE, THE IMAGE THAT YOU'RE SEEING ON THE POWERPOINT, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY SEEKING, UH, FUNDING FOR.
SO AS WE'RE TALKING TO FUNDERS, UH, AS WE'RE SEEKING FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE BRINGING UP.
SO, UH, WE DEFINITELY OPERATE OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS, UH, WHEN WE CAN POST DISASTER.
UH, BUT IT ALSO DEPENDS IF WE HAVE POWER.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE, UM, THAT OUR SPACES ARE RELIABLE AND THAT THEY'RE PART OF THE CITY AND REGIONAL PLAN TO COMPLIMENT THE URGENCY AND INVESTMENTS THE CITY IS MAKING.
POWERING THE COMMUNITY CENTERS MEANS POWERING RECOVERY.
UH, SO WE'RE DEFINITELY THERE FOR THE COMMUNITY, BUT WE ARE, UH, LOOKING TO EXPAND HOW, HOW ELSE CAN WE SERVE THE COMMUNITY? HOW ELSE CAN WE BE MORE RELIABLE FOR THE COMMUNITY? NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THE BAKER RIPLEY RESILIENCE STRATEGY CAN BEST BE FOUND WITHIN OUR, UH, COMMUNITY RESILIENCE HOUSE MODEL.
AS YOU SEE HERE, IT'S BROKEN UP INTO, YOU KNOW, QUADRANTS, PORTIONS AND SUCH, WHERE YOU SEE PREPAREDNESS, SMALL RECOVERY, SMALL BUSINESS, UH, RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE, THE RECOVERY WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT, UH, AS WELL AS A SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM RECOVERY.
AND IT'S ALL CENTERED ON OBVIOUSLY OUR DATA AND OUR PLANNING.
[00:35:04]
SO OUR APPROACH CAN, TO RESILIENCE CAN BE SUMMARIZED IN THREE WORDS, PREPARE, ADAPT, AND ACT.PREPARATION REDUCES RISK, ADAPTATION CREATES FLEXIBILITY, AND ACTION CREATES IMPACT.
SO WHAT DO THESE LOOK LIKE FOR BAKER RIPLEY DAY TO DAY? SO, PREPARE IS REALLY A LOT OF THE WORK THAT JOE AND I ARE DOING RIGHT NOW, AND WE'LL DIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE INTO THAT.
BUT THAT'S A PARTNERING WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND HARRIS COUNTY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TO DO, UH, THE CERT TRAININGS, THE COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAININGS, WORKING WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO SEE WHAT OTHER TRAININGS WE CAN BRING AT OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS AT TIMES AND LANGUAGES THAT ARE CONVENIENT FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UH, SO I KNOW GARY AND I HAD A CONVERSATION EARLIER, UH, LAST MONTH TO TALK ABOUT BRINGING MUCK AND GUT WORKSHOPS TO, UH, THE COMMUNITY.
UH, JOE AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT DOING, UH, SIMULATIONS, SOME EXERCISES THAT FEMA HAS AVAILABLE, UM, THAT WE CAN PUT INTO PRACTICE AND KIND OF DO SOME SIMULATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY.
BAKER RIPLEY'S REALLY GOOD ABOUT DOING, UM, DISASTER PREPARATION INTERNALLY, WE DO SIMULATIONS QUARTERLY TO PREPARE OUR TEAMS. WE DO DIFFERENT SCENARIOS, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WANNA BRING, UM, TO THE COMMUNITY AS WELL, UM, FOR THEM TO PRACTICE ADAPT.
SO THAT'S WHAT, WHAT DOES, UH, IT LOOK LIKE? WHAT DOES THE WORK LOOK LIKE RIGHT WHEN A DISASTER HITS? SO THAT'S USUALLY, UH, THE WORK THAT, UH, SOME OF Y'ALL DO AS WELL.
SO, UH, WATER DISTRIBUTIONS, MRE DISTRIBUTIONS, WE INCREASE OUR FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS.
KIND OF JUST ADDRESSING THOSE BASIC NEEDS, UH, THAT HAPPEN RIGHT POST-DISASTER.
AND THEN ACT IS A LITTLE BIT LONGER TERM.
UH, SO THAT DEPENDS ON GRANTS THAT WE RECEIVE.
SO, UH, IN THE PREVIOUS COUPLE OF YEARS, IT'S BEEN MORE FINANCIAL, UH, DIRECT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
UH, SO AGAIN, THAT'S GRANT DEPENDENT.
UM, BUT THAT'S SOME OF THE WORK THAT LOOKS LIKE DAY TO DAY OR WHAT IT CAN LOOK LIKE.
UM, PRE POST DISASTER FOR BAKER RIPLEY.
COMMUNITY RESILIENCE IS BUILT THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS.
THAT IS WHY BAKER RIPLEY ACTIVELY PARTICIPATES IN LOCAL AND REGIONAL LEADERSHIP EFFORTS FOCUSED ON PREPAREDNESS AND RECOVERY.
WHAT ARE THROUGH THE MAYOR'S READY ROUNDTABLE, THE CITY COUNCIL RESILIENCE COMMITTEE? THANK YOU, MA'AM.
THE GREATER HOUSTON DISASTER ALLIANCE AND TEXAS GULF COAST BO RAT RIGHT BEHIND US.
OUR OBJECTIVE REMAINS THE SAME.
CONNECT PARTNERS ALIGN RESOURCES AND STRENGTH AND READINESS, BECAUSE THE STRENGTH OF OUR RESPONSE TOMORROW DEPENDS ON THE STRENGTH OF OUR RELATIONSHIPS TODAY.
THESE IMAGES TELL THE STORY BETTER THAN ANY STAT, BUT LEMME MAKE IT PERSONAL.
AFTER HURRICANE HARVEY BAKER RIPLEY WORKED ALONGSIDE THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES WHO WERE TRYING TO REBUILD NOT ONLY THEIR HOMES, BUT THEIR LIVES.
ONE FAMILY CAME TO US AFTER LOSING NEARLY EVERYTHING TO FLOODING LIKE MANY FAMILIES AFTER A DISASTER.
THEY WERE NOT JUST FACING PROPERTY DAMAGE, THEY WERE NAVIGATING FEMA APPLICATIONS, INSURANCE ISSUES, TEMPORARY HOUSING CHALLENGES, EMPLOYMENT DISRUPTIONS AND UNCERTAINTY ABOUT WHAT CAME NEXT.
WHAT THEY NEEDED WAS MORE THAN ASSISTANCE.
THEY NEEDED COLLABORATION THROUGH DISASTER RECOVERY SERVICES, COORDINATED RESOURCES, AND LONG-TERM SUPPORT THAT FAMILY WAS ABLE TO STABILIZE, REBUILD, AND REMAIN IN THE COMMUNITY.
THEIR STORY IS NOT UNIQUE, IN FACT, REPRESENTS WHAT WE SEE AFTER NEARLY EVERY SINGLE DISASTER.
RECOVERY IS A PROCESS REQUIRING ASKING FOR HELP, LEVERAGING RESOURCES, AND WORKING WITH AGENCIES AND OTHERS TO REBUILD AND RESTORE LIVES, PROPERTY, AND SO MUCH MORE.
THAT IS THE ROLE BAKER RIPLEY HAS PLAYED FOR DECADES BEFORE DISASTERS DURING CRISIS, AND DEFINITELY THROUGHOUT THE RECOVERY.
SO THIS SLIDE, I KNOW EAST ALDEEN IS IN AN UNINCORPORATED AREA OF HARRIS COUNTY.
UH, BUT WHEN WE TURNED IN THE PRESENTATION, THAT WAS THE ONLY, UH, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS EVENT WE HAD DONE TO DATE.
SINCE WE TURNED IT IN, WE'VE ALSO DONE TWO MORE.
SO WE DID ONE, UH, IN PASADENA, AUGUST 1ST, AND THEN WE DID ONE JUST THIS PAST FRIDAY, UM, IN THE EAST END AT RIPLEY HOUSE.
SO WE JUST WANTED TO SHARE IN ACTION WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS.
UH, SO THIS WAS IN EAST ALDEAN.
WE SERVED A HUNDRED, 150, UH, FAMILIES.
AND THEN WE HAVE THERE LISTED SOME OF THE EVENT PARTNERS THAT WE HAD.
SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE GOT FROM THIS EVENT IS THAT THEY LOVE THAT THERE WAS,
[00:40:01]
UH, HANDS-ON DEMONSTRATION.SO, AND WE DIDN'T JUST FOCUS ON HURRICANE, WE FOCUSED ON EVEN WINTER, UH, FREEZE WEATHER PREPAREDNESS.
SO WE SHOWED HOW TO WRAP PIPES.
WE SHOWED HOW TO WEATHERIZE A WINDOW, AND WE SHOWED HOW TO USE A FIRE EXTINGUISHER.
AND THIS WAS ALSO GREAT BECAUSE IT WAS LED BY COMMUNITY FOR COMMUNITY.
SO IT WAS, UM, WITH A LOCAL ORGANIZATION CALLED, UM, HOUSTON DEPARTMENT OF TRANSFORMATION.
IT WAS THEIR, UH, ONE OF THEIR COMMITTEES.
AND, UM, IT WAS ALSO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WESTFIELD FIRE DEPARTMENT.
SO AFTER EVERYONE GOT TO SEE DEMONSTRATIONS, THEY ALSO GOT TO WALK THROUGH, GET RESOURCES.
EVERYONE LEFT WITH A FIRE EXTINGUISHER WITH A COUPLE OF OTHER DISASTER PREPAREDNESS ITEMS. UH, AND SO THAT WAS WHAT WE ENVISIONED FOR OUR OTHER EVENTS AS WELL.
UH, WE HAD DIFFERENT PARTNERSHIPS THAT WE ESTABLISHED FOR THESE EVENTS.
SO THE ONE IN PASADENA, WE HAD, UH, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH UNITED, WE PREPARE, WHICH IS UNITED WAY AND VERIZON, UH, THAT ONE WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE.
WE HAD BACKPACKS FOR BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON.
UH, THEY ALSO LEFT WITH $25, UH, HEB GIFT CARDS, THANKS AGAINST TO, UH, UNITED WAY AND VERIZON.
SO EVERY FAMILY LEFT WITH RESOURCES, NOT JUST TO START THE SCHOOL YEAR, BUT ALSO TO BE PREPARED FOR ANY TYPE OF EMERGENCY.
AND THEN THE ONE THAT WE JUST HAD THIS PAST FRIDAY WAS ACTUALLY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HPD.
AND SO WE WILL, IN ADDITION TO THOSE ITEMS, WE WERE ALSO ABLE TO DO FREE HAIRCUTS AND WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE, UH, FREE SHOES THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS AT ENERGY TRANSFER, UM, AT THAT EVENT AS WELL.
SO THESE EVENTS, YES, WE FOCUS ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, BUT WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON DURING THAT SEASON THAT WE CAN HELP BRING IN, UH, AND DO HOLISTICALLY SO OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS DON'T HAVE TO GO TO SO MANY EVENTS, THEY CAN KIND OF GET EVERYTHING THEY NEED IN ONE EVENT.
UH, AND THAT'S HOW BAKER RIPLEY JUST APPROACHES THINGS, IS HOW WE, HOW CAN WE MAKE THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS HOLISTIC FROM THE MOMENT THEY WALK IN THROUGH THE DOOR OR THEY ATTEND ONE OF OUR EVENTS, ATTEND ONE OF OUR CLASSES, OUR WORKSHOPS.
AND I JUST MENTIONED THIS, BUT OUR HEALTH AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS SERIES.
SO OUR GOAL IS TO HAVE A HEALTH AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS EVENT, UH, ANNUALLY.
I WILL SAY WE DID, WE'RE DOING THREE THIS MONTH, AND IT'S A LITTLE MUCH AUGUST, AS Y'ALL KNOW, Y'ALL ARE VERY BUSY,
UH, SO WE MIGHT RETHINK DOING THESE IN AUGUST.
WE MIGHT SPREAD 'EM OUT THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER.
UH, BUT THEY'VE ALL BEEN WELL ATTENDED, ABOUT 150 ISH FAMILIES, HAS BEEN PRETTY AVERAGE IN ATTENDANCE FOR THESE.
OUR NEXT ONE THAT'S COMING UP IS IN SOUTHWEST HOUSTON, AUGUST 28TH, FROM FIVE TO 7:00 PM AT OUR BAKER, RIPLEY, GULF AND SHARPSTOWN CAMPUS.
AND THAT ONE IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH, UH, THE HISD SUNRISE CENTER.
AND THEN, JUST WANTED TO SHARE SOME SURVEY RESULTS.
SO AS I MENTIONED, UH, WE'VE BEEN PARTNERING A LOT WITH HOUSTON, UH, OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND THE HARRIS COUNTY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOR THE CERT TRAININGS, THE COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAININGS.
WE'VE DONE THESE THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, UH, BUT NEVER SO INTENTIONAL.
AND THIS YEAR, WE, WE STARTED TO DO THEM VERY INTENTIONAL, AT LEAST HAVING ONE PER COMMUNITY CENTER FOR THE YEAR.
THIS HAS BEEN OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL CLASS SO FAR.
SO WE JUST HAD, UH, THIS CLASS GRADUATE A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, AND THIS WAS ALL IN SPANISH.
UH, 94% SAID THEY FELT MORE PREPARED FOR EMERGENCIES, WHICH I, I WOULD HOPE RIGHT AFTER THEY TAKE THIS TRAINING, 50%, WE FOUND OUT THAT 50% ALREADY PARTICIPATE IN BAKER RIPLEY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES.
SO GOOD FOR US TO KNOW THAT, TO CONNECT THEM TO SOME OF OUR OTHER PROGRAMS AND SERVICES, NOT JUST FOR BAKER RIPLEY, BUT FOR OUR PARTNERS AS WELL.
AND 88% ARE INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING IN THE FUTURE.
AND 13% WERE ALREADY BAKER RIPLEY VOLUNTEERS.
AND WHAT WAS REALLY COOL ABOUT THIS CLASS IS I SAW A LOT OF COUPLES, YOUNG AND OLDER COUPLES BE A PART OF THIS EVENT, UM, OF, OF THIS TRAINING.
AND SO, AS I WAS TAKING THEIR GRADUATION PICTURES, UH, IT WAS REALLY CUTE JUST SEEING THE COUPLES GO UP TOGETHER WITH THEIR CERTIFICATES, A WHOLE FAMILY GO UP TOGETHER.
I EVEN SAW KIDS BE A PART OF IT WITH THEIR LITTLE VESTS AND THEIR HELMETS AND EVERYTHING, OF COURSE, WITH, UM, PARENT PERMISSION, BECAUSE SOME PARTS CAN GET A LITTLE GRAPHIC, BUT THE, BUT THE PARENTS, UH, WERE OKAY WITH IT.
AND IT WAS GREAT BECAUSE YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT COULD HAPPEN IN AN EMERGENCY, AND KIDS COULD BE PUT IN THOSE SITUATIONS WHERE THEY HAVE TO HELP AN ADULT.
UH, SO IT WAS GREAT TO, TO SEE THAT EXERCISE IN ACTION, SEE THEM PUT OUT A FIRE, SEE THEM DO SOME BASIC TRIAGE ON THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS, ON OTHER NEIGHBORS.
UH, SO YES, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE DOING THESE TRAININGS.
AND I DID HEAR FEEDBACK ON WHAT ELSE, WHAT
[00:45:01]
OTHER TRAININGS THEY WANNA SEE.UH, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE MOST COMMON FEEDBACK THAT I'VE HEARD FROM THESE CLASSES IS THEY WANNA SEE CPR TRAINING.
THAT, OF COURSE, COMES WITH A COST.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER INVESTMENT THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, IS HOW CAN WE DO THESE CPR TRAININGS, BUT THAT DOES NOT INVOLVE A COST TO OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS, UH, WE HAVE LEARNED IS THAT NO SINGLE AGENCY CREATES RESILIENCE.
BUSINESS EDUCATION HAVE ROLES.
FAITH COMMUNITIES HAVE A ROLE.
COMMUNITY-BASED AGENCIES HAVE A ROLE.
THE CHALLENGE IS NEVER FINDING PARTNERS.
BAKER RIPLEY'S ROLE IS OFTEN TO SERVE AS THAT BRIDGE CONNECTING INSTITUTIONS AND COMMUNITIES.
BECAUSE WHEN SECTORS ALIGN AROUND A COMMON CAUSE, COMMON PURPOSE, EXCUSE ME, COMMUNITIES RECOVER FASTER AND EMERGE STRONGER.
SO AS WE LOOK AHEAD, THE QUESTION IS NOT WHETHER HOUSTON WILL EXPERIENCE ANOTHER DISASTER.
THE QUESTION IS WHETHER WE WILL BE BETTER PREPARED ONCE SATURDAY ARRIVES AT BAKER RIPLEY.
WE ENVISION HOUSTON WHERE RESILIENCE IS WOVEN INTO THE FABRIC OF COMMUNITY LIFE, WHERE RESIDENTS KNOW WHERE TO TURN, WHERE ORGANIZATIONS ARE CONNECTED, WHERE RESOURCES ARE COORDINATED, AND WHERE COMMUNITY CENTERS AND OTHER VITAL VENUES SERVE AS RESILIENCE HUBS BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER A DISASTER.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WE DO NOT HAVE TO BUILD THE SYSTEM FROM SCRATCH.
THE TRUST EXISTS, THE INFRASTRUCTURE EXISTS.
THE OPPORTUNITY BEFORE US IS TO STRENGTHEN AND CONNECT THESE ASSETS FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE NEIGHBORS.
WE INVITE YOU TO VISIT OUR RESILIENCE WEBSITE, WHICH WAS JUST LAUNCHED, I BELIEVE, LAST MONTH, WHERE WE HAVE A COLLECTION OF RESOURCES, COLLECTION OF, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE OUR COMMUNITY, BUT OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR COMMUNITY TO HAVE A LANDING SPOT FOR RESOURCES, QUESTIONS BEING ASKED, MAYBE POPULAR TOPICS.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA SAY FEARS, RIGHT? UM, AND UNIQUENESS OF RESILIENCE TO RESILIENCE WORK AND STUFF.
SOMETHING THAT I WANTED TO ADD REAL QUICK TO OUR, OUR, UM, PAGE ON OUR WEBSITE.
UH, SO IT'S BAKER RIPLEY.ORG/COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, BUT ON THERE, WE WILL ALSO HAVE POST-DISASTER SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, BECAUSE IN THE PAST, UH, WE DIDN'T REALLY HAVE, UH, UNLESS YOU DIDN'T HEAR IT ON THE NEWS, UNLESS YOU'RE ON OUR FACEBOOK GROUPS, UH, IT WASN'T ANYWHERE REALLY ON OUR WEBSITE.
AND SO IT'S GONNA BE MORE INTENTIONAL THAT YOU CAN SEE ON OUR WEBSITE WHAT WE'RE DOING POST-DISASTER.
IT'LL BE ON THAT RESILIENCE PAGE.
SO, UH, TO CONCLUDE OUR CALL TO ACTION, UH, SO WE INVITE YOU ALL TO JOIN THE NEXT CERT TRAINING THAT WE HAVE AT RIPLEY HOUSE IN SEPTEMBER.
I CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE MORE DETAILS ABOUT THAT, UM, AFTERWARDS, CHECK OUT OUR NEXT HEALTH AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS RESOURCE FAIR THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER IN SOUTHWEST HOUSTON AT OUR BAKER RIPLEY GULFTON SHARPSTOWN CAMPUS, OR VOLUNTEER AT ONE OF OUR FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS, HELP PROMOTE OR AMPLIFY OUR EVENTS, CLASSES, ET CETERA, TO YOUR CONSTITUENTS AND REFER PARTNERS AND FRIENDS OUR WAY AND, AND FUNNEL RESOURCES THROUGH US.
UH, BUT WE WANT TO THANK CITY COUNCIL FOR CHAMPIONING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, AND WE'RE EXCITED TO CONTINUE STRENGTHENING CROSS SECTOR COLLABORATION AND ADVANCING SU SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT AND BUILDING A MORE RESILIENT HOUSTON.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THANK YOU TO, UH, FOR BAKER RIPLEY FOR, FOR SO LONG BEING THAT BRIDGE THAT CONNECTS COMMUNITY TO, TO THE NEEDED RESOURCES.
UM, I WAS AT A SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL FAIR THIS WEEKEND, AND CENTERPOINT WAS THERE.
I SAW THERE ON YOUR LIST FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
AND YOU KNOW, WE, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DON'T KNOW.
AND PROVIDING JUST A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION GOES A LONG WAY.
AND, AND, AND YOU ALL CERTAINLY DO A, A GREAT JOB AT CONNECTING IN THE COMMUNITY, SO THAT'S GREAT.
JOE, IF YOU'LL FOLLOW UP, I'VE GOT A COUPLE IDEAS BECAUSE I, TOO HAVE THOUGHT, AND, AND MAYBE IT'S JUST OUTSIDE THE, YOU KNOW, THE SPACE I LIVE IN OR SOMETHING, BUT THE CPR CLASSES, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE USED TO BE MORE OPPORTUNITY THAT I WOULD HEAR ABOUT.
AND JUST RECENTLY I WAS KIND OF LOOKING AT THAT.
SO MAYBE WE CAN FIGURE OUT, DO SOME BRAINSTORMING AND SEE HOW WE CAN PARTNER.
THANK YOU WITH, WITH SOMEONE ON THAT.
UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER OFFICES IN THE QUEUE.
AND, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT BAKER RIPLEY DOES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, YOU HAD A REALLY GOOD SLIDE THERE THAT SHOWED 2024.
IT WAS JUST A REALLY ACTIVE SUMMER, A LOT OF DIFFERENT DISASTERS
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THAT CAME THROUGH.WHAT WERE SOME OF THE BIGGER TAKEAWAYS FROM THAT SUMMER THAT HAVE KIND OF FOLLOWED US THROUGH TO WHERE WE ARE NOW TODAY? AND, YOU KNOW, I, I SAW THE CHRONICLE CAME OUT WITH A REPORT SHOWING THAT THERE'S A LOWER CHANCE, I'M NOT GONNA RISK JINXING US HERE, BUT THERE'S A LOWER CHANCE OF SOME THINGS HAPPENING IN THE CITY.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, IF NOT THIS SUMMER OR NEXT SUMMER, WHAT HAVE, HAVE WE SEEN KIND OF COME THROUGH THAT 2024 SYSTEM? YEAH, I THINK, AGAIN, IT'S BEEN MORE PREPAREDNESS, UH, BECAUSE THERE WERE MULTIPLE THINGS THAT HAPPENED THAT YEAR AND THINGS THAT WE CERTAINLY HADN'T HEARD OF BEFORE THAT HAPPENED.
AND SO, UH, THOSE, THAT'S THE KIND OF THE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS WORK THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS DOING THOSE DIFFERENT SCENARIOS AND JUST KEEP PRACTICING YEAR ROUND, NOT JUST DURING HURRICANE SEASON, BUT WHAT ARE WE DOING DURING THE WINTER SEASON? WHAT ARE WE DOING DURING THE SPRING SEASON, JUST PREPARING YEAR ROUND.
UM, AND SO THAT'S OUR JOB IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THAT YEAR ROUND.
IT DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN DURING HURRICANE SEASON.
AND, AND IF I CAN ADD TO THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, PREPAREDNESS LOOKS A LOT, LOOKS A LOT OF WAYS.
IT CAN BE, IT CAN COME IN MANY SHAPES AND SIZES AND EVERY PREPAREDNESS PLAN, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ADD TO IT, SUBTRACT WHATNOT.
BUT ONE OF SOME OF THE MOST COMMON THEMES, QUESTIONS THAT, THAT WE FEEL DID ACROSS, YOU KNOW, PAST YEAR, CERTAINLY A YEAR AND A HALF, JUST BASIC STUFF LIKE, UH, WHAT'S THE MEETING SPOT? WHAT'S THE HUB? WHERE IS THAT HUB? WHAT DOES THE HUB HAVE? YOU KNOW, SO JUST PREPARING THEM.
BUT ALSO I THINK THE BIG THING TOO IS, UH, THE COMMUNICATION, MAKING SURE THAT THEY, THEY RECEIVE THE MESSAGES THAT WE'RE ALL IN SYNC, YOU KNOW, BAKER RIPLEY, OUR COMMUNITIES, YOU KNOW, OUR TEAMS, OUR STAFF, BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, CITY LEADERS, NONPROFITS, YOU KNOW, FAITH-BASED AND SO FORTH.
THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE DEFINITELY, UM, IDING AND SUCH.
THAT WAS A, A GOOD QUESTION ON THE TAKEAWAY BECAUSE 2024 TAUGHT US ALL A LOT.
UM, I REMEMBER BEING AT COMMUNITY CENTER AND, UM, AN ELDERLY MAN, YOU KNOW, IN HIS MID NINETIES HAD HIS, HIS POWER WAS OUT RIGHT? AND HIS FREEZER AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE THERE ON SITE AND, AND ENDED UP HAVING ONE OF THE, ONE OF MY STAFF STAY THERE TO HELP ASSIST WITH FEMA APPLICATIONS.
AND, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU THINK ABOUT SOMEONE OLDER, THEY'RE NOT COMPUTER LITERATE, IT JUST TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF ASSISTANCE TO GET PEOPLE OVER THE KIND OF OVER THAT, THAT HUMP TO SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL.
BUT YEAH, 2024 TAUGHT US A LOT THE NEED FOR THE NEED FOR WHAT YOU DO, THE NEED FOR VAD TO, TO STRENGTHEN THE, THE RESILIENCE PLANNING AND AND SUCH AROUND THE CITY.
SO YEAH, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY AMAZING TO SEE WHAT HAS HAPPENED AS A RESULT OF THAT REALLY BAD YEAR.
UM, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ.
UH, THE FIRST ONE IS ON THE SIXTH SLIDE ABOUT GENERATOR COSTS.
SO THAT'S MONEY THAT Y'ALL ARE TRYING TO FUNDRAISE FOR OR YOU HAVE FOR THE GENERATORS, OR WHAT IS THAT? RIGHT? IT'S FUNDING THAT WE'RE SEEKING.
SO JUST WANTED TO BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT THE NEEDS THAT ALSO EXIST AT OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS.
UM, AND YES, WE'RE LOOKING AT DIFFERENT FUNDERS THAT POTENTIALLY HAVE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE.
AND IS THAT, ARE YOU ASKING THE CITY FOR SUPPORT OR IT'S PRIVATE, UH, PHILANTHROPY OR WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THAT MONEY? WELL, I DO KNOW THE CITY IS MAKING INVESTMENTS IN THE MULTI-SERVICE CENTERS AND, AND ALL OF THAT.
I MEAN, CERTAINLY IF THERE'S FUNDING AVAILABLE THEN WE WOULD BE INTERESTED IN THAT OPPORTUNITY.
UM, BUT YEAH, WE'RE DEFINITELY LOOKING AT VARIOUS OPTIONS.
IF WE CAN BE USEFUL, LET US KNOW.
THE OTHER, UH, AND WE'RE NOT THE MAYOR'S OFFICE, SO NO PROMISES
UM, THE OTHER QUESTION IS A, A DIFFERENT ISSUE.
SO I'VE PROBABLY BEEN TO TWO OF YOUR FOUR COMMUNITY CENTERS, I THINK, AND THOSE TWO, UH, SEEM TO BE SERVING MOSTLY LOW INCOME WORKING FAMILIES AND SENIOR ELDERLY POPULATION, NOT IN THE WORKFORCE.
UM, AND SOMETIMES IN THE DISASTER PREP WORLD, WE TELL FOLKS, GO AND BUY A WEEK'S WORTH OF CANNED FOOD, RIGHT? IN CASE THE FRIDGE GOES OUT, OR, UM, BUY A WEEK'S WORTH OF TOILET PAPER IN CASE IT'S FLOODING AND YOU CAN'T GET TO THE STORE.
DON'T ALWAYS HAVE MONEY TO DO THAT.
SO WHAT'S YOUR ADVICE EITHER FOR THE CITY IN TERMS OF HOW WE CAN BE, UM, YOU KNOW, EQUIPPING THOSE FAMILIES TO BE MORE RESILIENT OR WHAT'S Y'ALL'S KIND OF STRATEGY AND APPROACH TO HANDLE THAT? WHICH I WAS JUST READING.
I THINK GREATER HOUSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION SAYS 39% OF OUR GREATER HOUSTON REGION IS FOOD INSECURE, SO FOLKS ARE STRUGGLING.
THAT'S WHY WE CONTINUE DOING THE, THE FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS AND WE INCREASE THOSE, UH, DURING POST-DISASTER.
UH, SOME OF THE SUPPLIES, YES, IT IS, IT FAMILIES MIGHT NOT HAVE THE BUDGET TO GET THOSE ITEMS. AND SO THAT'S WHY WE WANNA DO SOME OF THESE RESOURCE FAIRS A LITTLE BIT MORE FRE FREQUENT.
AND I DO SEE OTHER PARTNERS, UM, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY DOING SOME OF THESE EVENTS MORE
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FREQUENT AND HOPEFULLY WITH ALL OF THOSE EVENTS TOGETHER AND EVERYBODY KIND OF DISTRIBUTING DIFFERENT ITEMS, THOSE FAMILIES CAN BUILD THEIR KIT FROM ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT GIVEAWAYS THAT THEY GET FROM ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT EVENTS.SO, UH, YEAH, WE DEFINITELY TALK TO OUR PARTNERS, UH, POST EVENTS AND JUST TALK ABOUT WHAT COULD WE BE DOING BETTER, WHAT DO FAMILIES REALLY NEED THAT WE SHOULD BE GIVING AWAY AT THESE EVENTS? AND AGAIN, THAT'S ANOTHER OTHER FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE LOOK FOR AS WE APPLY FOR GRANTS IS HOW DO WE IMPROVE THESE EVENTS AND GIVING AWAY ITEMS IS DEFINITELY IMPORTANT.
AND JUST ONE LAST LITTLE PIECE, UM, DO Y'ALL ALSO DO KIND OF BLUE SKIES BENEFITS ENROLLMENT, LIKE SNAP AND THINGS LIKE THAT? OR YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T DO THAT? YES, THAT GOES ON YEAR ROUND AT OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS, UH, PROBABLY ALMOST EVERY DAY OUT OF THE WEEK.
THERE IS SOME SORT OF APPLICATION ASSISTANCE AT EACH OF OUR COMMUNITY CENTERS, WHETHER IT'S MEDICAID, CHIP, UH, FOOD STAMPS, UM, THE HARRIS HEALTH FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM THAT WAS FORMERLY KNOWN, KNOWN AS THE GOLD CARD.
WE HAVE NAVIGATORS FROM THE HOUSTON FOOD BANK THAT COME, COMMUNITY HEALTH CHOICE, TEXAS CHILDREN'S, UH, MEMORIAL HERMAN.
SO WE HAVE DEF DEFINITELY SEVERAL DIFFERENT PARTNERS THAT COME ON CAMPUS, UH, TO PROVIDE THOSE APPLI THAT APPLICATION ASSISTANCE.
LOOKS LIKE THAT'S ALL THE QUESTIONS, BUT THANK YOU BOTH FOR BEING HERE TODAY AND THE WORK THAT YOU DO FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, IT TAKES US ALL DOING OUR PART TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.
AND YOU GUYS CERTAINLY HAVE DONE THAT FOR A LONG TIME AND CONTINUE TO STEP UP.
I THINK WE'VE A FEW QUESTIONS, UH, SPEAKERS FROM THE AUDIENCE AND SO YOU CAN TAKE YOUR SEAT AND WE'LL SEE.
I DON'T SEE DOMINIC MAIK, MAZO, EXCUSE ME HERE, BUT MS. VICKI MARTIN, IS THAT YOU UNDER THAT HAT OVER THERE? MY EYES ARE NOT THAT GOOD.
SPEAKING OF SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD MORNING.
THANK YOU FOR ASSEMBLING THIS AND I'M GLAD THIS COMMITTEE EXISTS.
UH, WE HAD OUR EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING.
I'M THE PRESIDENT OF EAST HOUSTON SET OF GAS, SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD, 49 50.
UH, SET OF GAS, UH, IS A RESILIENT COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE A LIFE EXPECTANCY OF 66 YEARS, SO THE COMMUNITY IS UNDERSERVED AND UNDER MARGINALIZED, A MARGINALIZED COMMUNITY.
ALSO, YOU HELPED US IN THE EFFORT WITH OUR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ISSUES BECAUSE WE HAVE SOME INDUSTRIES THAT ARE DOING HARMFUL AND NEGATIVE INFLUENCE IN OUR AREA, BUT TODAY IS ABOUT RESILIENCE.
SO WE ARE TRYING, AS A SUPER NEIGHBORHOOD, WE ARE TRYING TO ESTABLISH A RESILIENCY HUB.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO GET SOME PROPERTY, WE WANNA PARTNER WITH THE LAND BANK SO WE CAN GET SOME PROPERTY SO THAT WE CAN BUILD A RESILIENCE HUB SO WE CAN ADDRESS THE ISSUES AS THESE SPEAKERS HAVE SAID, AND THANK Y'ALL.
Y'ALL HAVE SOME VALUABLE INFORMATION SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY SERVE OUR COMMUNITY AND SURROUNDING AREAS.
WE WANNA HAVE A PLACE THAT IF YOU DO COME AND VOLUNTEER AND YOU CANNOT GET TO YOUR OWN HOME, OR YOU'RE TRYING TO REALLY SERVICE THAT YOU CAN HAVE TEMPORARY HOUSING AND BE ABLE TO SHOWER AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO GIVE OUR ICE.
WE, IT'S SIMPLE THINGS WHEN WE GO THROUGH STORM DISASTERS AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND POWER OUTAGES, YOU'LL BE SURPRISED SOME PEOPLE DON'T EVEN HAVE COOLERS.
SO WE COME WITH THE ICE, BUT THEY DON'T HAVE THE COOLERS.
THE, UH, GENERATORS FROM OUR COUNCILWOMAN, THEY DON'T HAVE A CHAINSAW, THEY DON'T HAVE A GAS CAN.
SO WE ARE TRYING TO GET EDUCATION OUT THERE.
BUT A FEW POINTS, IF I WOULD BE ALLOWED, RESILIENCY IS MORE THAN RECOVERY.
RESILIENCY IS HAVING THE CAPACITY TO WITHSTAND IT, RESPOND TO IT, AND RECOVER STRONGER.
SO WE ARE WANNA EDUCATE OUR PROPERTY OWNERS AND TENANTS.
HOW DO WE DO THAT? WE HAVE OPEN DITCHES.
SO WE ARE TRYING TO GET THE WORD OUT WHAT A PROPERTY OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR AND WHAT THE CITY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR.
THINGS AS SIMPLE AS MAINTAINING YOUR DITCH.
WHEN WE TALK TO HOMEOWNERS, THEY'RE LIKE, THAT BELONGS TO THE CITY.
SO IF THE DITCH IS NOT MAINTAINED, THE WATER CANNOT LEAVE THE AREA.
WE, WE PARTNER WITH HARRIS COUNTY FLOOD CONTROL FOR, UH, OF TASK FORCE.
OUR HAULS BAYOU IS NOT BEING MAINTAINED PROPERLY BECAUSE OF THE FUNDING WHICH IS THERE, BUT WE DON'T GET THE PROJECTS BECAUSE WE DON'T MEET THE ALGORITHM THAT TELLS THEM TO COME AND DO PROJECTS IN OUR AREA.
SO IF THEY CAN PUT THIS IN THE UTILITY BILLS, THE DO'S AND DON'TS ABOUT IN, UH, FOR PROPERTY OWNERS ABOUT MAINTAINING THEIR PROPERTY, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
UH, 'CAUSE DITCHES, MAINTENANCE BEING PERFORMED IN OUR COMMUNITY AND PEOPLE ON THE STREET FROM THE CITY.
HOW, HOW ABOUT LETTING THOSE PROPERTY OWNERS KNOW WHILE YOU'RE ON THE STREET THAT THEY'RE IN VIOLATION? YOU ARE THERE, YOU ARE BOOTS ON THE GROUND.
ALSO, LEAVE A DOOR KNOCKER IF THE HOMEOWNER'S NOT HOME.
WE HAVE SOME COMMUNITY PEOPLE THAT HAVE SIGNED UP FOR TRAIN TRAINING.
UH, WE ASKED HCC TO GIVE US A DISASTER RESILIENCY LITERACY WORKSHOP SO THAT WE CAN BE TRAINED SO THAT WE CAN
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ALSO VOLUNTEER WITH, WITH PEOPLE.UH, WE HAVE FOOD SAFETY MANAGEMENT CERTIFIED.
UH, OEM, WE DO HANDOUTS IN OUR SUPER ENABLED MEETINGS BECAUSE WE WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW WHAT, WHAT THEY CAN DO TO BE ON THE ACTIVE REACT, UH, PROACTIVE SIDE.
WE JUST HAD PARTNER WITH DISTRICT B.
WE DID, UH, PAPER SHRED TIE, ROUNDUP AND, AND JUNK WASTES.
WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF TIRE SHOPS THAT ARE NOT BEING REGULATED, SO THEY LEAVE THESE TIRES IN AREAS THAT STOP THE WATER FROM LEAVING OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I'M GONNA WRAP IT UP AND SAY THAT, UH, TREE REMOVAL FOR A VULNERABLE POPULATION IS A NEED BECAUSE DISASTERS WILL COME, BUT PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THE FINANCES AND THE RESOURCES TO REMOVE THOSE VULNERABLE TREES FROM THEIR PROPERTY.
SO WE'RE JUST, UH, ALL OVER THE PLACE.
WE WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER WHEN WE ARE, WHEN WE TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES AND ABLE TO GO OUT.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO MEET WITH THESE PEOPLE, OUR ORGANIZATIONS AFTERWARD.
AND I'M JUST LETTING YOU KNOW THAT EAST HOUSTON CITY GAS WANTS TO BE A PARTNER.
WE ARE HERE TO BE PUT ON LISTS AND TO HELP IN ANY WAY THAT WE CAN SERVE AS WELL.
WELL, THANK YOU MS. MARTIN FOR WHAT YOU DO AND, AND BEING AN ADVOCATE FOR YOUR COMMUNITY.
WE'VE, WE'VE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT A FEW TIMES AND, UH, IF I COULD WAVE A MAGIC WAND, TWO THINGS, I'D GET RID OF THAT GOLD STAR MEDALS AND I YES, MA'AM.
AND, AND NUMBER TWO, UM, WE NEED TO VISIT, I, I WAS JUST THIS PAST WEEK TALKING ABOUT A PIECE OF PROPERTY OUT THERE, UH, RIGHT DOWN THE STREET FROM, ANYWAY, WE, WE NEED TO VISIT BECAUSE I, I THINK CERTAINLY THERE IS, UM, THERE'S A NEED.
AND, UM, THERE'S, I THINK THERE'S OPPORTUNITY IN THE COMMUNITY THAT IF, IF WE APPROACH IT RIGHT.
BUT LET'S, UM, I'LL GET WITH YOU AND, AND WE'LL SET A TIME SO WE CAN VISIT.
I CAN EITHER COME TO YOU OR, UH, YOU CAN COME TO ME, BUT I'VE GOT SOME IDEAS FOR YOU.
UM, AND WE CAN GET YOU CONNECTED WITH OUR FRIENDS HERE.
UH, VOAD, I WILL TELL YOU, UM, DURING, UM, BARRELL OR THE DERECHO, WHICHEVER THAT KINDA RAN TOGETHER IN MY MIND, UM, SOME OF THE, UH, VOLUNTEERS FROM THE ORGANIZATION WERE ACTUALLY ON SITE HELPING IN THE COMMUNITY.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU MAKE A CALL, THAT'S WHO YOU, THAT'S WHO YOU MAKE YOUR FIRST CALL TO.
SO HAPPY TO GET, UH, CONNECT WITH YOU AND, AND TALK ABOUT A FEW THINGS TO SEE IF WE CAN GET Y'ALL SOME HELP OUT THERE.
UM, WE DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS IN THE QUEUE.
IT LOOKS LIKE, UH, STAFF FROM COUNCIL MEMBER RAMIREZ'S OFFICE HAS A QUESTION.
UM, SO I'M GONNA SEED TO THE CHAIR BECAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE SHE'S GONNA CHAMPION YOUR THE HUB QUESTION ABOUT THE LAND.
UM, I WAS GONNA ASK, AND I'LL ASK JUST 'CAUSE I'M CURIOUS, BUT, UM, YOU MENTIONED THE LAND BANK.
DID THEY OWN SOME LOTS IN SAN YES.
WELL, THEY OWN SOME PROPERTIES.
I'M ACTUALLY A MEMBER OF THEIR, UH, COMMUNITY COMMITTEE, BUT WE HAVEN'T HAD A MEETING IN QUITE A WHILE.
BUT YEAH, WE, WE WOULD BE INTERESTED IF THEY HAD SOME PROPERTIES THAT THEY ACTUALLY OWN, IF WE CAN ACQUIRE THOSE.
BUT SO THEY DO OWN SOME IN INSIDE OF GAS? THEY DO OWN SOME PROPERTIES INSTEAD.
BUT THEY WORK MORE WITH DEVELOPERS AND FAITH-BASED GROUPS.
BUT WE ARE TRYING TO GET THEIR ATTENTION AS WELL.
IF WE CAN HELP, I THINK WE NEED TO WORK WITH A FAITH-BASED GROUP OUT THERE.
AND ALSO WE WOULD NEED THE COUNCIL SUPPORT TOO, UH, BECAUSE WE HAVE A SHEET METAL FENCING ORDINANCE THAT WE WOULD LIKE, BECAUSE THAT'S A BIG ISSUE IN OUR AREA.
THE SHEET METAL FENCING, WHEN THE RETRO HAPPENED, THOSE SHEET METAL FENCE TOOK FLIGHT AND THEY'RE DANGEROUS.
PEOPLE DON'T THINK OF IT WHEN THEY INSTALL THAT NEST.
THEY HAVE, THEY THEY GROW WINGS DURING THE WIND.
UH, STEPH FROM COUNCIL MEMBER SALINAS'S OFFICE.
AND, AND THANK YOU MS. MARTIN FOR ALL OF YOUR LEADERSHIP.
UM, YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR OFFICE.
UM, REGARDING THE MASSIVE ILLEGAL DUMPING SITE ACROSS FROM THE CITY AS HARRIS HEALTH CENTER.
AND, AND THAT WAS A HUGE WIN BECAUSE OF YOUR ADVOCACY AND YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, UM, FROM HARRIS, FLOOD CONTROL AND, AND CITY.
AND JUST WANT TO THANK YOU AGAIN AND YOU, LIKE YOU MENTIONED, YOU HAVE SOME INCREDIBLE ORGANIZATIONS BEHIND YOU THAT ARE GOING TO HELP AS WELL.
BUT JUST WANTED TO COMMEND YOU FOR YOUR WORK AND FOR BEING HERE AND EXCITED TO CONTINUE OUR PARTNERSHIP.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO COME DOWN.
IS THERE ANYONE ELSE THAT DIDN'T SIGN UP THAT HAS A QUESTION OR WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT? IF NOT, THAT CONCLUDES THIS MEETING.
THE NEXT RESILIENCE MEETING IS SEPTEMBER THE THIRD AT 10:00 AM THANKS A LOT.