At any given time, the refugee community in Buffalo speaks between 80 and 106 languages, many of which do not have a written component, presenting unique challenges for the city’s emergency and disaster notification procedures. In partnership with Apple Domingo, director of New Americans with Jewish Family Services of Buffalo and Erie County, Rebecca Brenner’s student teams are surveying Buffalo’s immigrant community and resettlement agencies to uncover existing social networks for communication that can be tapped for more effective emergency notification. Engaging the refugee community as architects of an improved system to overcome language barriers in emergency communications will not only make make refugees less vulnerable, but it will also create greater safety for emergency responders.

California Wildfire Prevention and Recovery Planning Guidelines for Decision-Makers

Wildfires burn more 1,000 homes annually in California, and land use planning can be a useful tool in preventing housing loss to wildfires. In California, fire marshals can be key to the planning process, but many are unaware of their role in land-use planning and have limited experience in the planning process. This project seeks to remedy this problem by identifying best practices in land-use planning for fire prevention and developing a guide that is accessible to planners and fire professionals alike.

Brenner works with students to interview community leaders, fire officials, elected and appointed officials and more. After interviews are conducted, the students draft stronger policies that include land use for fire suppression in planning decision-making, and make recommendations to update existing state laws to reflect this more inclusive approach to disaster prevention.

Refugee Disaster Management Plan

The refugee population in Buffalo represents more than 100 different spoken languages, causing unique communication challenges, especially when it comes to disaster management. The refugee cohort is currently connected through caseworkers at a variety of nonprofit agencies, and these agencies do not have a comprehensive disaster management plan.

The goal of the project is to engage community members and have them take part in developing disaster management plans and pathways for information sharing. Students work with Brenner to engage with agencies — and, more importantly, get the agencies to engage community members who invest in and help create their disaster plan.