Two weeks ago, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) activated our organizational plan for the Hawai’i wildfires. We knew it would be devastating, but cell phone service and communications towers were out of commission, and information was scarce. While we waited and prepared, we also had to carry out our planned activities, including our regularly scheduled webinar. It was titled "Disaster Case Management: Navigating Recovery One person at a Time." The webinar highlighted an essential component of recovery that we would soon discuss with our contacts in Hawai'i: the importance of person-to-person work in disaster case management. 

The Director of CDP's Midwest Early Recovery Fund, Cari Cullen, moderated the webinar. It featured Kristin Kelley Monahan of Kelley Nonprofit Consulting and Maria Gonzales of SBP USA (a CDP grantee). Cullen showcased a new Disaster Case Management (DCM) toolkit she developed to help funders and nonprofits understand the DCM process, and speakers shared their experiences with DCM programs. 

What Is DCM?

Disaster case management is a partnership between a skilled helper (disaster case manager) and a disaster-affected individual or family, providing tools and processes to survivors on their unique path to recovery. It supports timely and essential information on needs. As Cullen explained, "It's the space which allows communities to really get to those disaster-affected families and individuals to determine their specific needs and to meet those very specific needs for each of those families and individuals." 

DCM is most effective when run locally. Simply put, the community knows what they need. They understand the terrain, the communication channels, the local leaders and community hubs. This will be incredibly important in Hawai'i, where the Native Hawaiian community of West Maui and Lahaina are tight-knit and do not always trust outsiders. 

The following week, in a webinar we held about the wildfires in Hawai’i, we heard this from two of the speakers. Malia Purdy, executive director of Hui No Ke Ola Pono, said, “We need to recognize the cultural sensitivity of the care that this community is going to need, and that is going to take time. We have to start training people now. Right now we are in shock. As time goes on, we are going to need a lot of culturally appropriately trained mental health providers, trauma response, and grieving counselors.”

Nick Winfrey, president and chief professional officer of Maui United Way, echoed this saying, “I want to acknowledge that there are incredible disparities in this community, across the board that were here before this took place. I am seeing a fear of how that inequity is going to grow. It’s important to recognize inequity was here before, it will continue to be here, and we need to address that in how we do this work.”

Funding disaster case management locally is efficient. Someone is likely already working to connect people with resources in a community. Funding DCM also means paying for salaries, mental health support, childcare, and supporting the wellbeing of the managers and the affected community. Disaster case management is more than full-time work.

Coordination and communication systems illustrate another reason DCM is more likely to succeed when locally run. Local leaders can communicate with the government and NGOs who show up for the disaster. Kelley Monahan explained the importance of" know[ing] who's doing what in the community. It makes it more efficient, efficient of what resources are available and what can be leveraged, and how best to leverage them."

Further, a process flow is required in any recovery so no one falls through the cracks. Willingness to cooperate and be flexible is critical. Some resources have stipulations and requirements, and it's expected to pivot while navigating needs, as everyone will require different forms of aid. It is essential to respect each piece of the process: As Cullen said, "The people that are helping their neighbor navigate are just as vital and important in these systems as the professional disaster case manager who may have seen hundreds of cases. We need both of those pieces to work together." 

The recovery process can and often does take years to complete. If funding runs out, as Gonzales highlighted, "When you lose your disaster case managers, you lose everything you invested." Challenging cases often take the longest, and case managers have built relationships with clients. If a program is forced to stop, the relationship cultivation, the trust and the knowledge are lost. 

Cullen discusses her first experience with disaster case managers: "I walked into a room full of people who were very angry, they were very emotional, they were exhausted, but they were still passionate, and they were still fighting for those clients and those people that they were working for. And they needed some resources to be able to do that."

Resources look different for every community and individual. Flexible funding and support allow recovery to be tailored to the needs of the individual. If a family needs help repairing their home, funding dedicated to food and clean water won't help them recover. Flexible funds help support client's wellbeing and give them as much autonomy and dignity as possible. 

As situation reports and needs assessments continue to pour in, and discussion goes on about effective, efficient, and ethical response and recovery, it is comforting to be able to lean on the experiences of those before us in toolkits and response recommendations, to build upon our collective history and remember that recovery is possible when recovery is funded. 

How Can I Help?

  • Fund for the long term. Government-funded case management wraps up long before the disaster recovery is completed. Case managers must take the necessary time to know the community, develop plans and help clients achieve their best outcomes. The most complex cases to solve often take the longest and need support from outside of the traditional case management process. 
  • Get out of the office. The best-case management is offered in the community. This includes places where people already live and gather. When it's necessary to go door-to-door, funders can help by covering the cost of transportation for clients and case managers, providing training, trauma-informed services, community meetings, and additional support to provide the most direct case management services possible.
  • Help fund the solutions. It's often easy to develop a case plan. It's harder to implement. The most fabulous plan in the world does nothing if there's no money for materials, if those materials aren't available, if there are no licensed contractors or others to fill those gaps, or if there are government delays, etc.