Lessons from Louisiana

In January 2024 the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) hosted BAF Fellow Brittany Giles Jones as part of a multi-organizational site visit to disaster-affected communities in Louisiana to help inform research and practice. Brittany joined a team with representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, MDS conference leaders, and local community leaders assembled by MDS Executive Director Kevin King. 

The team traveled to MDS project sites in Jennings (Jefferson Davis Parish) and communities throughout Lafourche Parish to engage with local homeowners, community representatives, and volunteers who are rebuilding homes. Brittany is leveraging her specialization in equity-related issues and emergency management to provide observational insights to the MDS leadership and to write an analytic brief that will be available on the BAF website later this spring. 

This engagement is an outgrowth of a partnership meeting that took place at the 2023 Natural Hazards Workshop, which introduced BAF Fellows and grantees of the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies as a first step toward ongoing communication, coordination, and collaboration.