Supporting Recovery after Natural Disasters
P artners for Sacred Places has been working with a crossdisciplinary and international research team to better understand the resiliency of congregations along the Texas Gulf Coast in the face of increasing and intensifying natural disasters . The project , led by the University of Texas at San Antonio ’ s ( UTSA ) Center for Cultural Sustainability , worked with nine case-study congregations in Galveston , Victoria , and Houston , Texas .
Architects and engineers completed detailed surveys of the sites to identify resiliencies and vulnerabilities in infrastructure , and Partners led a concurrent effort to gather the stories of how congregations contribute to the response and recovery effort after disasters . The research project makes a compelling case that the United States could not recover from natural disasters without the assistance of the faith community , and that investment in the physical resiliency of sacred places directly increases the overall disaster resiliency of a region . The project team developed an easy-to-use ( and inexpensive ) assessment tool for congregations to holistically assess their own disaster resiliency and give guidance on how to
Jackie Douglas plays the cowbells to welcome people to Reedy Chapel A . M . E . Church in Galveston , Texas , during the annual Emancipation March from the Galveston County Courthouse . Reedy Chapel is the site where General Order No . 3 was read on June 19 , 1865 — the origin of the Juneteenth Holiday . The church was a case-study congregation in a study of the resiliency of congregations along the Texas Gulf Coast , and has weathered several hurricanes and at least one fire , yet also served as a center of recovery efforts for the surrounding community . Photo : Jennifer Reynolds / The Galveston County Daily News
address identified vulnerabilities . This vulnerability assessment , along with other resources for congregations looking to enhance their resiliency , was made publicly available in the summer of 2022 .
Partners and UTSA ’ s Center for Cultural Sustainability hope that this work will lead to the development of a national network of congregations , emergency management offices , building professionals , foundations , and disaster response organizations that can continue to enhance the resiliency of sacred places , and their communities , in the face of climate change .
Disaster-Proof Texas Heritage Website and Resources ceid . utsa . edu / disasterprooftexas / utsas-toolkit
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