what is mutual aid in emergency management

[Imagine Mutual Aid] rapidly and consistently filled in critical gaps in disaster response, offering important services and supplies to those in need. However, in the case of multiple alarm fires, mass casualty incidents (MCIs) or large-scale hazardous material (hazmat) incidents, that municipality may call in resources from surrounding towns to either respond directly to the incident scene or take up quarters in their fire and EMS stations and respond to other incidents in that city or town when local crews are handling a protracted incident. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management,12(3),98111. Southern Cultures,22(4),830. In order to build resilience and reduce risk to communities social infrastructure, we recommend the following: Grassroots mutual aid demonstrates the importance of responding to immediate needs within a community, while shifting the existing systems that led us into crisis. EMAC, the Emergency Management Assistance Compact is an all hazards - all disciplines mutual aid compact that serves as the cornerstone of the nation's mutual aid system. (Spade, 2020). In the same way that we know mitigation saves money, investing in building mutual aid networks prior to crises helps lessen the impacts and improves the ability of communities to recover more quickly. Such calls for mutual aid are the results of incident escalations as determined by the incident commander. Information sharing between displaced individuals is critical post-disaster, and in the case of Hurricane Laura, people found themselves displaced to an unfamiliar city and further isolated from each other and from services due to FEMAs non-congregate shelter model. 2 The SMA is a multiracial, multiissue, and multigenerational movement alliance of grassroots organizations across the South. Retrieved fromhttps://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-07/fema_nims_mutual_aid_guideline_20171105.pdf. Together, members of the Imagine Mutual Aid (New Orleans) group provided over 3,000 bags and suitcases to transport belongings, hundreds of kitchen appliances to allow for cooking in the non-congregate shelters, specifically requested clothing in a large variety of sizes, toiletries, medicine, haircuts, laundry services for evacuated individuals, and more. The Imagine Mutual Aid (New Orleans) group proved to be a critical component in meeting the individualized needs of those who evacuated from Southwest Louisiana, providing requested supplies, emotional support, emergency cash, and laundry services for those in non-congregate shelters, as well as healing opportunities and locally informed hurricane preparedness information for subsequent storms. When trusted relationships can be developed, it allows for mutual support, as was seen when the Imagine Mutual Aid (New Orleans) group helped local government identify and fill gaps in response efforts, while local government helped community groups access and distribute resources. While the Hurricane Laura Emergency Cash Program was open to anyone sheltered in New Orleans, evacuated individuals in the Imagine Mutual Aid (New Orleans) group were able to inform the program by openly offering feedback, helping troubleshoot any technical issues, and spreading the word to other evacuated individuals who had not yet utilized the program. Community partner organizations, such as Operation Restoration, also remained on site for weeks, continuing to hand out flyers and offer additional technical assistance. Mutual Aid/Emergency Management Assistance. This ability to self-advocate is foundational to a Just Recovery, which requires that all community members be provided with the ability to exercise their agency fully through free and informed choice in support of their personal well-being (Jerolleman, 2019). Fernando,C.(2021, January 21). MADR. In the Spring, we reconnected to help prepare the youth group for this upcoming season.We worked with the youth group to choose storm prep supplies that wouldnt just help keep them more safe physically, but also mentally and spiritually. Mutual aid associations continued to gain widespread membership throughout the nineteenth century, especially during times of upheaval. Sundays in the streets: The long history of benevolence, self-help, and parades in New Orleans. City transitions Laura Evacuee Resource Center Management, encourages residents to volunteer and donate, Sundays in the streets: The long history of benevolence, self-help, and parades in New Orleans, Effectively teaching African American social welfare historical developments, The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, Where do second lines come from? Mutual aid may be ad hoc, requested only when such an emergency occurs. Retrieved fromhttps://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol21/iss1/12. FEMA, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. One of the most famous examples of mutual aid came from the Black Panthers Free Breakfast for Children Program, which was then co-opted by the Federal government, becoming the US Department of Agricultures School Breakfast Program (King Collier, 2015). Built-in structural violence and vulnerability: A common threat to resilient disaster recovery. 'Emergency response and recovery' is designed to complement Emergency preparedness, which sets out how the duties under the Civil Contingencies Act ( CCA) 2004 and its supporting regulations. What Is SEMS? Accessed onJanuary5,2021. (2020). This zine is by us, for us. Within emergency management, mutual aid has become defined by legally binding agreements, often with a focus on liability concerns and being able to have expenses reimbursed (FEMA, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2017). Accessed onJanuary21,2021. EMAC is a congressionally ratified mutual aid compact that defines a non-Federal, state-to-state system for sharing resources across state lines during an emergency or disaster. Imagine Water Works staff was aware of specific needs in the group and would report back to mutual aid members if the items were available. It iseffectively accomplished by entryinto mutual aid agreements. The formation of such mutual aid societies, which provided assistance for everything from basic necessities to medical care and funeral services, grew widespread throughout the nineteenth century, often in response to racism and exclusion from other forms of aid. Following an explanation of the activation of the EMMA Plan, training procedures are described. EMMA - Efficient Mixed-Model Association. https://www.hsaj.org/articles/168, Elliott,J. R.,Haney,T. J., &Sams-Abiodun,P.(2010). Social capital: Dealing with community emergencies. By collaborating in response to COVID-19 and Hurricane Laura, Imagine Mutual Aid and the city of New Orleans were able to share reliable information and resources quickly within the community, encourage local goodwill to respond directly to the requests of evacuated individuals rather than manage donation dumping, and identify gaps within the response. (2007). (Part 1 of 2).Adiaj is a queer Black digital storyteller. In this chapter, we explore how emergency management can better understand and collaborate with community-based mutual aid projects, shifting toward empowering local action without abdicating governments responsibility, increasing social capital and civic activity, and thereby strengthening the social networks that are invaluable in times of crisis. As in previous times of social upheaval and disasters, mutual aid organizations can be particularly helpful for marginalized communities when federal or state governments responses are delayed (e.g., delayed COVID-19 stimulus checks) or inadequate (e.g., undocumented individuals who are ineligible for federal emergency management assistance). Mutual aid uses community organizing to grow people power. (2017). ), and we shared ways to enhance our prep beyond today.We are beyond grateful for days like this, when we know weve got each other. The responses required from other towns are predefined, so all a dispatcher has to do is call the appropriate resources as determined by the "run card" for such an incident. EMAC has a 25+ year history of being the nation's preeminent mutual aid system. After World War II, emergency responders evaluated the damage from aerial bombing and determined that there . National incident management system guideline for mutual aid. In New Orleans, Imagine Water Works had already created long term, trusted relationships with neighbors, unincorporated community groups, non-governmental organizations, and individuals within the local governments emergency management office prior to the pandemic and 2020 hurricane season; this allowed both entities to quickly mobilize resources and coordinate community support. doi:10.1177/2043820620931277, Stier,D. D., &Goodman,R. A. The Pala Fire Department has mutual aid agreements with other nearby fire departments but never had a formal mutual aid agreement with the state Office of Emergency Services until July 20, when . This mutual aid agreement enables states to send . Imagine Water Works also fundraised and sent $20,000 to evacuated individuals through a system of cardless ATMs, providing funds for emergency needs, such as gas money to return home for FEMA assessments. The Emergency Management Assistance Compact ( EMAC) is a mutual aid agreement among states and territories of the United States. New Orleans sheltering 9,200 evacuees from Hurricane Laura. SMA Mutual Aid Principles & Commitment: Peoples First 100 Days, Power of Our People: Mutual Aid & Community Defense (Working paper). doi:10.1111/j.1540-6210.2006.00673.x. Grassroots mutual aid also sheds light on existing gaps within emergency management and illuminates incongruencies within the fields dedication to reducing risk and building resilience. From this, as well as historic examples of mutual aids role within Creole and Black communities, we have showcased how grassroots mutual aid can respond to crises while building safer communities long-term, rooted in justice and equity. In some cases, the existence of grassroots efforts can inspire government to expand access to resources to better meet community needs. In this way, grassroots mutual aid was able to influence local disaster relief policy. If emergency management is to become more equitable and rooted in justice, it must grapple with the root causes of inequities that lead to more disastrous outcomes when communities are exposed to natural and man-made hazards. American Anthropologist,108(4),744764. New York, NY:Alfred A. Knopf. Kropotkin: The Politics of Community. Imagine Water Works staff was given access to the Resource Center and was encouraged to take pictures of available supplies and share information with the group in real time. Our team talked about how to use the emergency supplies provided (pros and cons! Furthermore, building this community capacity is necessary in order to allow for what Dr AlessandraJerolleman (2019)defines as a Just Recovery, in which Principle #3 requires the full harnessing of the communities transformative and adaptive capacity, honoring their definition of resilience, in order to reduce risks for the future., Within emergency management, there is increased recognition of the importance of building community relationships. Grassroots mutual aid encourages us to imagine what is possible, rather than responding to our current conditions in which we know that disasters disproportionately impact vulnerable populations and to work in solidarity with others to create more just and equitable communities that are more resilient both today and in the future. And so thats what weve done.Immediately following Ida, we sent $15,000 to transqueeryouth.nola to help take care of trans and queer youth in the immediate aftermath. Gordon Nembhard,J. (2015, November 4). At the time of publication, additional efforts are being made to set up an online mutual aid platform for Southwest Louisiana in collaboration with The Vessel Project, modeled after the Imagine Mutual Aid group in New Orleans. (2020, June 22). Caring geographies: The COVID-19 interregnum and a return to mutual aid. Enter the username or e-mail you used in your profile. Accessed onMarch31,2021. Looking for easy ways to prepare? The origins go back more than 200 years, SMA Mutual Aid Principles & Commitment: Peoples First 100 Days, Power of Our People: Mutual Aid & Community Defense (Working paper), Mutual aid: Building solidarity during this crisis (and the Next), Caring geographies: The COVID-19 interregnum and a return to mutual aid, Mutual aid agreements: Essential legal tools for public health preparedness and response, Collaboration and leadership for effective emergency management. The mutual aid support concept is well established and is considered "standard of care" in most emergency response disciplines. This guide has been compiled with the intention of increasing public access to services that are free or low-cost in the New Orleans area. INTRODUCTION This annex is created and intended to be an integral part of the San Diego County Operational Area (OA) Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and the current State of California Fire and Rescue Emergency Mutual Aid Plan. Grassroots mutual aid is useful in responding to community needs in times of crisis, but is also focused on deepening community support systems and building long-term solidarity. The Emergency Managers Mutual Aid Plan is based on the following assumptions: 1. (Domnguez et al., 2020). For African Americans, such mediating institutions historically provided the only available social assistance. They include automatic aid agreements, in which neighboring jurisdictions are dispatched inter-locally; formal requests between neighboring jurisdictions; regional mutual aid agreements; statewide intra-state mutual aid agreements; and inter-state agreements (LLIS, 2004). Other agreements are common in small towns that have either no resources or limited resources. The SMA is a multiracial, multiissue, and multigenerational movement alliance of grassroots organizations across the South. Mutual aid refers to the social, emotional and informational support provided by, and to, . Artist: Adiaj S. (she/her)Pure Black joy, love, and wonder. We are not in charge of this network and have no say over what local groups do.". doi:10.1525/aa.2006.108.4.744, Dickson,E. J. The purpose of this mutual aid support agreement is to aid hospitals in their emergency management by authorizing the Hospital Mutual Aid System (HMAS). Recognizing that grassroots mutual aid is connected to those most impacted in disasters, other national organizations approached Imagine Water Works for advice on how to best direct funds locally; Islamic Relief USA and the American Red Cross utilized the MARNs hyperlocal networks to direct funding to LGBTQ individuals affected by the 2020 hurricane season. This is often summed up with the solidarity, not charity definition of grassroots mutual aid, aimed at differentiating these efforts from a charity-based model of aid, in which those with resources set the terms in providing aid to those in need, instead of centering individual autonomy while building a long-term culture of the collective sharing of resources and information. While much focus within emergency management has been on strengthening physical infrastructure, no amount of investment in physical infrastructure will be able to reduce all risk and eliminate vulnerability. Given the rising costs of disasters and impacts of climate change, grassroots mutual aid presents many lessons and recommendations that focus on building social networks that actually support community resilience. Aberg-Riger,A. The organization has a founding background in traditional emergency management, including a focus on hazard mitigation, resiliency planning, and preparedness for individuals and small businesses. In times of crisis, grassroots mutual aid can fill gaps left by systemic failures, providing increased access to food, housing, medical care, information, and more. (2020, December 22). It is widely accepted in emergency management that neighbors often serve as first responders in a disaster. The Mutual Aid Response Network allowed for Hurricane Laura disaster survivors to ask for what they really needed. Mutual aid is a key component of the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which provides the framework for emergency response. By being rooted within communities and providing an avenue for survivor agency, mutual aid, demonstrates how people come together to care for each other and share resources when, inevitably, the government is not there to help, offers relief that does not reach the most vulnerable people, and deploys law enforcement against displaced disaster survivors. Fire Operations Contacts Sam Marouk, Deputy Chief North - Fire Operations Phone: (916) 845-5709 sam.marouk@caloes.ca.gov Art Torrez, Deputy Chief Tomorrow! We aren`t affiliated with any brands in the kits. [Instead, it is possible to expand our understanding of pre-disaster mitigation by strengthening social infrastructure, like social capital, that affects community resilience (Aldrich & Meyer, 2014). Collective courage: A history of African American cooperative economic thought and practice. The heart of her work lies in capturing timeless memories and moments.Contact:whoisadiaj on Instagram#StormZineProject#QueerTransGuideToStorms. July 24, 2023 7:44 AM. EMMA - Electronic Municipal Market Access. Seiferth,E.(2021, February 24). (Ed.) (Spade, 2020), Grassroots mutual aid was widely used in response to Hurricane Katrina, whether through informal exchanges of social capital or the coordinated efforts of volunteer street medics who helped form the Common Ground Health Clinic and inspired the creation of the Mutual Aid Disaster Relief network (Breunlin & Regis, 2006;Elliott, Haney, & Sams-Abiodun, 2010;MADR, 2020). If this is you, come through (details on last image)! If developing grassroots mutual aid projects, include clear guidelines that advance equity and justice. Retrieved fromhttps://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=765527. Large municipalities typically have enough fire and emergency medical services resources to handle large local incidents. By providing resources needed for immediate survival, mutual aid creates a shared awareness of the inter-connectedness between individuals, strengthens community networks, and builds awareness of why community resources may be lacking (Spade, 2020). FEMA, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This process worked because of trust and relationship building by all actors the City of New Orleans, Imagine Water Works staff, and members of the Imagine Mutual Aid group from both New Orleans and Lake Charles. Solidarity, not charity: A visual history of mutual aid. Emergency Management Assistance Compact. EMAC is a national interstate mutual aid agreement that enables states to share resources during times of disaster. With a recorded . For example, following the Kobe earthquake in 1995, the majority of individuals who were pulled from the rubble of their collapsed homes were saved by neighbors, not firefighters or rescue workers (Aldrich & Meyer, 2014). Accessed on March 24, 2021. Utilizing a case study from New Orleans, we explored lessons from Imagine Water Works MARN, in which a digital platform facilitated thousands of mutual aid exchanges in response to the pandemic and multiple hurricanes, including a mass evacuation due to Hurricane Laura. If we are attempting to return communities to their pre-disaster conditions, which often include inequities and injustices, then emergency management as a field will continue its unending cycle of preparation, response, and recovery. Mutual aid agreements establish the terms for resource sharing across all mission areas in emergency management; they can be established across all levels of government and with non-governmental and private sector entities (FEMA, 2017). Agreement among emergency responders to lend assistance across jurisdictional boundaries, The examples and perspective in this article, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Mutual Aid | American Public Power Association", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mutual_aid_(emergency_services)&oldid=1070049896, Articles needing additional references from April 2018, All articles needing additional references, Articles with limited geographic scope from October 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, This page was last edited on 5 February 2022, at 11:43. Within emergency management, "mutual aid" has come to mean the specific legal mechanisms by which governments, non-governmental organizations, and private sector entities share resources. The understanding of mutual aid within this field largely focuses on establishing the legal mechanisms to share supplies, personnel, equipment, information, or other resources across political boundaries (FEMA, 2017;Stier & Goodman, 2007). Nixon,S. A. According to Mary FrancesBerry (2005). ),Creating Katrina, rebuilding resilience: Lessons from New Orleans on vulnerability and resiliency(pp. 11-30.https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-726220220000025002, We would have never made it this far into the human odyssey without mutual aid. Retrieved fromhttps://www.southtosouth.org/post/get-the-state-of-the-south-report. (L. Darwish, E-mail interview, February 28, 2021). Putting the ninth ward on the map: Race, place, and transformation in desire, New Orleans. This may occur due to an emergency response that exceeds local resources, such as a disaster or a multiple-alarm fire. This proved crucial during the concurrent disasters of 2020 and was beneficial from a local government perspective: Mutual aid was a game changer in the 2020 Hurricane season for New Orleans. Along with TQY organizers, we pre-packed bags and also created a free store of sorts where they could pick out their favorites. Atlanta, GA:Southern Movement Assembly. For access to a .pdf copy of this article, email klie@imaginewaterworks.org. Rather than attempting to co-opt or abdicate responsibility for local response efforts, explore opportunities to collaborate or support grassroots mutual aid by providing typically difficult-to-access information and material resources. 99130). Southern Movement Assembly. Dating back to at least medieval times, mutual aid activities range from informal helping networks to formally organized voluntary associations. DEADLINE EXTENDED - APPLY BY JUNE 8: Calling all Queer/Trans artists, healers, writers, educators, and creators in Southeast Louisiana! Interstate partnerships in emergency management: Emergency Management Assistance Compact in response to catastrophic disasters. #AccidentalQueerCatFarm#IfYouBuildItTheyWillCome. Accessed onApril1,2021. Grassroots mutual aid trusts those most impacted by disasters to know what they need and provides the ability to self-advocate, rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all solution. Adiajs photo collage features pictures from festivals, passing time during hurricanes, grieving, and birthdays. Through resource typing, disciplines examine resources and identify the capabilities of a resource's components (i.e., personnel, equipment, training). Citizen response to disasters: A survey of literature and some practical implications. Residents engaged in mutual aid projects will often have fewer resources than government, even if those resources are shared freely. When it comes to advancing equity, grassroots mutual aid has the ability to prioritize support for most vulnerable members, who experience disparate outcomes in disasters. It does so by building leadership from the community, providing opportunities to learn and grow, mapping resources, and challenging systems of oppression. InThe historic New Orleans collection. (2014). Retrieved fromhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/27697865. It has been widely used within communities of color for centuries, as detailed below, with a recorded history in Black and Creole1communities beginning in the mid-1700s. While initially conceived of as a mutual aid response to hurricane season in the Greater New Orleans area, COVID-19 proved to be an early testing ground for this grassroots project. Grassroots organizations can serve as trusted community partners, providing assistance in cases where government may not be reaching more marginalized populations, while local governments can provide information and additional resources in cases where community partners may traditionally experience barriers to access. For example, a New Orleans resident in the Imagine Mutual Aid (New Orleans) group was sheltering an evacuated individual whose wheelchair had broken. We examine the history of grassroots mutual aid during times of crisis and upheaval and how this community-centered approach can inform emergency management, while addressing systemic inequities. Retrieved fromhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/26221808. Project South is an anchor organization of SMA, and Imagine Water Works is a member organization of SMA.