Enhancing Survivor Assistance – Adapting to Unprecedented Climate Disasters
IEMer, Chris Smith, Director, Individual Assistance and Disaster Housing presented a powerful keynote presentation at the 2024 Wildfire Leadership Summit on October 11, 2024.
“Our mission should be developing communities to better withstand the challenges of our climate, building better and smarter in the first place, not just building back better. Together, we can create a safer, more prepared locality, a more prepared state, a more prepared nation.” — Chris Smith
Disaster recovery should empower, not exhaust. By rethinking individual assistance to be survivor-centric, we can restore dignity and put communities on the path to true resilience in the face of catastrophe.
Chris Smith is an experienced emergency manager who previously served as the Director of the Individual Assistance program at IEM/FEMA. In this role, he worked to support disaster survivors and communities through the provision of critical financial assistance and recovery resources. Drawing on his expertise in individual assistance, Chris now serves as a disaster consultant, dedicated to improving the way communities prepare for and recover from catastrophic events.
Chris discusses the need to evolve the disaster recovery paradigm, leveraging state/local roles, private sector engagement, and innovative technologies to create a more responsive, streamlined system that better supports survivors, especially those impacted by wildfires, through individualized assistance and a focus on community resilience.