Disaster Preparedness
Alief's Disaster Preparedness Protocol
"Sometimes it takes a natural disaster to reveal a social disaster." — Jim Wallis
Why This Report Exists
When Winter Storm Uri hit in February 2021, Alief residents such as 50-year community member Dianne Purvis went eight days without water, electricity, or refrigeration. Temperatures in houses were down to 40 degrees. During Hurricane Beryl, some neighborhoods lost power for 14 days while others were restored in two.
These weren't just numbers; these were the lives of our neighbors. So we asked a simple question: What does disaster preparedness look like when it is built by the community, for the community?
16 Months In The Making
The Numbers That Tell Our Story
194
Community members attended preparedness workshops
100,000+
Residents represented from more than 80 countries
45
Stakeholders participated in our comprehensive roundtable
30
Student volunteers from all five Alief ISD high schools
75+
Partner organizations collaborating on solutions
Developed in
7
langauges to accomodate Alief's language diversity
The Team Behind This Work
This protocol exists because Alief students believed their community's voices deserved to shape policy. Lead author Tommy Wan coordinated the 16-month research and community engagement process, with editorial contributions from student writers Julian Nguyen, Harrison Tran, Lander Gonzalez, Zody Calderon-Huerta, Allie Hogan, Ericka Chanchavac-Rosales, Sawsan Busari, Cindy Ukwu, and Yousif Al Mashhadi.
We are deeply grateful to the community members and professionals who contributed to this report through their feedback, expertise, and lived experience. Thank you to our government partners in Alief for your dedicated feedback and collaboration: Councilwoman Tiffany D. Thomas, Alief ISD, Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones, State Representative Gene Wu, Mayor’s Office of Education and Youth Engagement, Houston Mayor’s Office, and Harris County and Houston Health Department.
This report is for you, whether you’re a longtime Alief resident who remembers when the power was out for weeks, a newcomer trying to understand how this community takes care of its own, or an elected official looking for policy solutions that actually came from the people they’re meant to serve. The 97-page report was written by students who grew up here, with contributions from neighbors who shared their toughest moments, and is designed to be something you can actually use. We hope you will take a few minutes to read it and share it with someone who needs it. And we hope you will help us turn these recommendations into reality. Alief, we built this together. See the report below!
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