If It Happened to Them, It Could Happen to Us
This week's newsletter draws on insights from my friend Richard Vernon, whose extensive experience in Emergency Disaster Services at The Salvation Army provided invaluable expertise on disaster preparedness.
We don't like to think about it, but we should. Natural disaster-driven homelessness doesn't just happen to "other people." It can happen to any of us, no matter how stable life feels right now.
Many of the folks I meet on outreach didn't lose their housing because of long-term struggles, but because of sudden, unpredictable events. A fire started by a neighbor's mistake, damage from a hurricane, or a flood that turned homes into wreckage overnight. There's a very thin line between "us" and "them."
Extreme weather displaced 2.5 million people in the U.S. last year. That's about the entire population of Chicago or Houston forced to flee their homes, often with little more than what they can carry.
No one can completely disaster-proof their life. But there are practical steps we can all take to be better prepared, and real ways we can help when someone else is suddenly pushed into crisis.
Here are three ways to be ready if the worst happens:
Create a "Go" Bag
Keep a backpack with essentials: copies of IDs and insurance papers, basic toiletries, medications, a flashlight, and a phone charger. It's simple, but having those basics ready can make an overwhelming moment slightly more manageable.
Document Your Space
Take photos or a short video of your home, furniture, and valuables, and store them digitally. If you ever need to file an insurance claim, this record can speed things up and help prove your losses. Don't just keep them on your phone or in an external hard drive, because those can be broken in disasters, too. Upload them to cloud-based storage for extra safety. And if you're a renter, document that you have key access to your rental unit to ensure that you have proof that you live there.
Make a Communication Plan
Choose an out-of-town friend or family member everyone in your household can contact if you're separated. When local networks fail, long-distance calls often still go through.
Three ways to help neighbors facing disaster-driven homelessness:
Know Your Local Resources
Find out which shelters, hotlines, and nonprofits in your area help people in crisis. Having that information ready means you can share it immediately when someone's world turns upside down.
Support Local Relief Efforts
Local shelters, food pantries, and housing nonprofits are often first to respond and last to leave. Donations of money, time, or supplies can make a real difference right where it's needed most.
Stay Present Beyond the Headlines
After the cameras leave, keep checking in. Weeks or months later, people often still need meals, rides, help filling out forms, or simply someone to listen.
Disasters will keep coming, but how we prepare and how we care for each other afterward is up to us.
Next week, I'll share why disaster-driven homelessness is about systemic gaps we can fix, and what true resilience could look like for everyone.
With Gratitude,
Josiah Haken
City Relief, CEO
