Adam Peacocke of ROC Sonoma County - Searching for Long-Term Fire Solutions
Our guest for September 27, 2018 was Adam Peacocke of Rebuilding Our Community Sonoma County (ROC Sonoma County). Adam’s general topic was a discussion about Sonoma County fire relief and, more generally, how events such as our October 9, 2017 fire do not go away after the initial problems are ‘resolved.’ Experts says that communities facing major disasters such as ours usually take between 5 and 10 years to recover. Once the initial disaster is dealt with, disillusionment and compassion fatigue may set in and people often stop dealing with the long-term problems. That’s where Adam comes in!
ROC Sonoma County works collaboratively within a community network of governmental agencies, churches, and other community groups to address long-term recovery needs related to the October Fires. ROC also works with other communities to determine the best ways to collaboratively deal with disasters, that is, how to coordinate all of a community’s resources to deal with disaster, and to be prepared to use those resources before the disaster occurs. As Adam said, we need a system of collaboration amongst the various resource groups in our communities.
Adam mentioned that the “footprint” of the disaster and the fire are different. There is a “hazard event” (the fire) and a “disaster” (the long-term problems). The hazard event occurs but the “disaster” remains, long past the period of compassion. For example, the fire did not cause our housing shortage, but it did exacerbate it. Adam believes that the housing shortage will continue to get worse long after the fire as, for example, landowners tend to remain in the ‘second-homes’ they moved into after the fire, evicting renters who are now less able to find housing.
One of the most notable programs run by ROC Sonoma County so far was the “Inspiring Hope” project in which the community came together for a weekend and built over 100 temporary living sheds. These sheds are a valuable short-term solution for those who lost their homes in the fire. This is an example of what a well-coordinated, multi-faceted community organization can do.
Our Sunrise hats are off to Adam and ROC Sonoma County. They are doing great work. If you are interested, check out their website at www.rocsonomacounty.org. Well done Adam and many thanks for showing us the way!
