The Gulf Resilience Community of Practice recently named Boat People SOS as the Spirit of Community Award winner in the community champion category for its commitment to improving risk communication about natural and human-caused disasters.
The Gulf Resilience Community of Practice is a group of several hundred professionals throughout the Gulf of America who work together to learn how coastal communities can adapt to natural hazards, sea-level rise, precipitation changes and other resilience challenges. Members of the group who have attended at least one annual meeting are eligible to vote to elect award winners.
The community champion category
While the Spirit of Community Award has recognized individuals and local communities in the past for their strides in resilience, these efforts have often been in the form of planning documents or city projects that are undertaken through formal government channels, such as a city government or regional planning agencies. There are countless leaders and organizations, though, whose work and dedication in improving environmental and social opportunity may go unnoticed at times, which is why the Gulf Resilience Community of Practice conceived the new a “community champion” award category.
A champion is defined in the dictionary as a “militant defender,” a “supporter” or as “one that does battle for another’s rights or honor.” A champion is an impassioned individual who takes the need of others upon himself in service of a worthy cause. The Gulf Resilience Community of Practice Planning Committee is honored to recognize individuals and small community organizations that amplify overlooked voices and serve to build bridges of trust and collaboration between communities and environmental decision makers.
The community of practice announced Boat People SOS Gulf Coast as this year’s award winner in the community champion earlier this month at its annual meeting in Houma, Louisiana.
Boat People SOS
Boat People SOS is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides services to Vietnamese Americans, refugees and immigrants in the United States. Founded in 1980, the organization operated voluntary missions to rescue 25,000 Vietnamese boat people from the high seas. It has since expanded its services to aid immigrants, refugees, victims of trafficking, natural disaster preparedness and survivors of violence.
Boat People SOS Gulf Coast opened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2006. It has been providing direct services to the Vietnamese and Southeast Asian American population in coastal Mississippi and Alabama in response to the urgent and emerging needs of individuals, families and communities. It has offices in Biloxi, Mississippi, and Bayou La Batre, Alabama, and is the only service provider specifically serving the Vietnamese and Southeast Asian communities in these regions.
Coastal resilience work
Within the area of coastal resilience, Boat People SOS Gulf Coast is currently co-leading a project, Enhancing Capacity for Risk Communication in Vietnamese-American Communities, to improve the ability of communities in the northern Gulf to manage impacts from natural and man-made disasters. Specifically, it is improving disaster preparedness capacity for Vietnamese-American communities in the Gulf to effectively prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters.
In addition, Boat People SOS Gulf Coast is increasing awareness among weather communicators regarding the language and cultural barriers that Vietnamese-American communities face and equip communicators with strategies to effectively address gaps in their efforts.
Furthermore, the organization is working with other resilience partners in the region on a project to co-develop weather-related outreach products. The goal of this project is to increase understanding of weather-related risks and communication products among Vietnamese-American families and businesses in order to improve decisions that are made when severe weather threatens the area.
Boat People SOS Gulf Coast and other project stakeholders are also hoping to increase understanding of existing weather communication barriers and promote the use of novel or new approaches to weather communications to better reach the communities it serves.
This is just a small sampling though of the incredible work the organization has done in the Gulf of America region. Its continued commitment to risk communication and promoting cultural understanding makes it a valued partner to the Gulf Resilience Community of Practice.
About the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium
The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states. Sea Grant programs encourage the wise stewardship of marine resources through research, education, engagement and technology transfer.
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Stephen Deal
Extension Specialist (Land Use Planning)
Stephen works with floodplain managers, building officials, city officials, scientists and Sea Grant partners to provide information and training related to flood and storm resilience. He holds a... Read more
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