Community resilience panel says networks are the way to success after derecho

CEDAR RAPIDS — Leslie Wright said the secret to building community resilience is its people, connections and networks.

The lead writer of the Community Resilience Project’s final report — put together by her consulting firm Collective Clarity as a joint project between Linn County and the city of Cedar Rapids — kicked off Thursday night’s community conversation event at CSPS.

“This was the first time there was a multi-jurisdictional disaster and for that, you need a whole new playbook,” Wright said.

A couple of dozen residents attended the discussion and Q&A event to listen to and ask questions of panelists Tamara Marcus, Linn County sustainability director; Cedar Rapids Fire Chief Greg Smith; Ashley Balius, Linn County community outreach and assistance director; J’Nae Peterman, Waypoint director of housing services; and Nafissatou Lamidi, RefugeeRISE AmeriCorps data and impact analyst.

The event follows the release of the report last month which aimed to capture “critical learning” from the derecho and improve the recovery process.

The project was conceived as a way for Linn County communities and organizations to “collaborate effectively during the recovery phase of a disaster.”

The report’s recommendations include creating a non-partisan position for planning and coordinating disaster recovery; sharing resources in planning for disaster recovery; and planning and strengthening connections and partnerships while enhancing communication.

“I certainly think it’s an important takeaway from the report and something that should be considered,” Marcus said.

“We need someone to give their full-time attention to make sure organizations are talking to each other,” she said. “Intentions were good but because of lack of direction and planning, it wasn’t as impactful as it could’ve been. It’s important to have someone who knows what they are doing, what everyone is doing. A director would be focused on addressing the impacts of these events.”

Marcus’ Department of Sustainability last week launched its Resiliency Hub, located at the Linn County Fillmore Building, 520 11th St. NW. Working with nonprofits like Feed Iowa First, the NAACP and the Salvation Army, it established a community garden to provide access to local food.

“The site was developed from identifying the resources that were most essential during derecho: food, electricity, Wi-Fi,” Marcus said. “This site is meant to provide access to critical resources during times of disaster but also throughout the year. The report mentions investing in pre-disaster planning and this hub aims to do that.”

Panelists also discussed equitable housing problems that existed pre-pandemic and pre-derecho but were exacerbated during the two crises.

“Housing equity was an extensive issue even before the derecho,” Balius said. “There’s a need for more housing units … all across our housing system. Homelessness is something we’ve continued to see grow in this community. From pre-pandemic to now, we’ve seen more than a 200 percent increase in our on-the-street homeless population.”

“What I see moving forward is preplanning for helping households be resilient (in disaster),” Peterman said. “That’s one of the things we saw with our mobile home communities. To find another solution for those individuals was really challenging. A lot of those households, we had to help them move outside of the community which was unfortunate because we didn’t have other options for them.”

Some of the most vulnerable communities mentioned were the area’s immigrant and refugee populations, elderly residents and smaller communities with little to no disaster experience.

Lamidi was on the ground during the initial disaster response on the west side of Cedar Rapids where many immigrant residents live.

“It was really intense and it was devastating to see all those broken houses,” Lamidi said. “Everyone was trying to help but we didn’t have a plan to follow and we just wanted to respond to the need right there. We didn’t have disaster response training. We were just trying our best. Having a plan that clearly defines roles and responsibilities will be really great and helpful in the future.”

Smith added that it is vital for communities and organizations to network and plan together moving forward for when the next disaster hits Linn County.

“Mike Tyson said everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth, and that’s true,” Smith said. “I believe planning is essential because it pushes you in the right direction but you also can’t forecast every step you need to make. But that’s where strong relationships come in. The emergency is not the time you want to be exchanging business cards. You want those relationships beforehand.”

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