Participants at a FEMA Disaster Preparedness meeting discussed how the agency should focus its efforts on LGBTQIA people in the event of a disaster.
Footage of a Zoom call, date unknown, shows five people speaking about FEMA’s response to natural disasters, including one man identified as Tyler Atkins, a training manager in FEMA’s Office of Resilience.
Atkins, whose pronouns are he/they, notes that natural disasters disproportionately affect LGBTQIA people.
“LGBTQIA and people who have been disadvantaged are already struggling, already have things to deal with. So you add a disaster on top of that. It’s just compounding on itself.”
According to his LinkedIn page, Atkins works “as a Training Manager in the Office of Resilience managing our Resilient & Ready Seminar Series, a twice monthly webinar series that discusses climate change, equity, professional readiness, and FEMA programs.”
Atkins is followed by a woman called Maggie Jerry. After being interrupted by her cat’s meowing, Jerry discusses how disaster preparedness has moved away from a “utilitarian” model that focuses on ensuring the greatest good for the greatest number of people, to a model of “disaster equity.”
FEMA Disaster Preparedness Meeting:
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 7, 2024
"We should focus our efforts on LGBTQIA people… they struggled before the storm"
"FEMA relief is no longer about getting the greatest good for the greatest amount of people…. It's about disaster equity." pic.twitter.com/IqXeKI8OTT
FEMA’s “Strategic Plan” on its website makes its primary goal to “instill equity as a foundation of emergency management.”
The website says:
Disasters impact people and communities differently. Every disaster occurs within a unique context based on a community’s geographic, demographic, political, historical, and cultural characteristics.
These unique contexts require tailored solutions that are designed to meet their unique needs.
Underserved communities, as well as specific identity groups, often suffer disproportionately from disasters. As a result, disasters worsen inequities already present in society.
This cycle compounds the challenges faced by these communities and increases their risk to future disasters. By instilling equity as a foundation of emergency management and striving to meet the unique needs of underserved communities, the emergency management community can work to break this cycle and build a more resilient nation.
The objectives listed under this goal include ensuring a “diverse workforce,” adopting a “people first” approach and achieving “equitable outcomes.” According to final third objective, “FEMA must direct its resources to eliminate disparities” in disaster response.
“A people first approach removes barriers to access and is beneficial to everyone. On its own, however, this approach is not sufficient to break the cycle of disasters, worsening societal inequities and exposing underserved communities to increased risk. There are systemic differences in society that access alone cannot fix.”
The footage will only add to growing anger at FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helene.
The death toll has now passed 230, making Hurricane Helene the deadliest since Katrina in 2005, which killed 1,850 people. Tens of thousands are still without power and whole communities have still not received any government help, over ten days after the hurricane made landfall in Florida.
The federal government has been accused of prioritising the well-being of Ukrainians and Israelis overseas, and of illegal aliens at home, over the residents of the Carolinas and Georgia.
Many have suggested the faltering response may in fact be deliberate, because the areas worst affected by the disaster are all largely Republican.
Civilians attempting to provide supplies using helicopters and aid search and rescue have been turned away, according to reports, or even arrested for “interfering.”
Multiple whistleblowers have come forward from within FEMA to criticize its response to Hurricane Helene.
On Saturday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene promised that FEMA director Deanne Criswell will be held to account for her agency’s failures.