Disaster Preparedness and Response

In a few minutes, disaster can tear your life apart. Winds, rain, waves or pandemic can take away everything we love. Refugees and immigrants are particularly vulnerable when disaster strikes.

The CWS Durham Disaster Response and Preparedness Program offers partner organizations, refugees, immigrants, and the wider community in North Carolina the support needed to access inclusive disaster resources for preparedness and long-term recovery.

CWS Durham operates in three of the disaster areas: preparedness, response, and recovery to ensure holistic and culturally appropriate services for the refugee and immigrant populations we serve.

Preparedness

We have developed and continue to develop partnerships with stakeholders, grassroots groups, non-profits, congregations, organizations active in disaster, community leaders, and the refugee and immigrant population in NC to provide training and information that will help us better respond to emergencies and natural disasters.

To learn more on how to prepare and respond to a disaster contact Daniela Archibold at darchibold@cwsglobal.org and visit our Disaster Preparedness Videos Youtube playlist  

Response

In the wake of the storm, we're stronger when we stand together. We work with partner organizations to address the needs of immigrants and refugees after a disaster. Organizations can request hygiene kits, emergency cleanup buckets, school kits, and blankets in the aftermath of a disaster through CWS’s Kits and Blankets Ministry. If you are an organization responding to a disaster in North Carolina fill out this form. 

Also, through the Immigrant Solidarity Fund, we respond to undocumented clients who have been affected by COVID-19 or by immigration and detention procedures.

Recovery

We connect partner organizations with seed grants and other resources and ensure that refugees and immigrants can recover from disasters.   We advocate to ensure that some of our most vulnerable neighbors can get the help they need. We focus on resettled refugees, migrant workers and people without documentation. These groups often have a hard time accessing other channels of support. In partnership with trusted local organizations, we help families pay their rent, buy household supplies and more. We also provide training and information to help people better prepare for future emergencies.