Disaster Preparedness & Recovery
JIREH’s Disaster Preparedness & Recovery initiative emerged from direct community need. While disaster response and preparedness are relatively new areas for our organization, we stepped in during times of crisis to support our community in the ways we were capable and where the gaps were most urgent. Drawing on our healthcare foundation and strong community partnerships, we provide support during and after emergencies by helping connect residents to healthcare, food, mental health resources, and essential supplies. As we continue this work, JIREH is intentionally building capacity—learning alongside partners, strengthening systems, and growing our preparedness efforts—so we can better support communities facing future emergencies with care, humility, and collaboration.
The Challenge
Ongoing Disaster Challenges in Our Community
Environmental disasters continue to disproportionately impact communities that already face structural inequities in access to healthcare, housing, food, and emergency resources. In Southeast San Diego and surrounding areas, the January 2024 floods exposed long-standing infrastructure failures and left hundreds of families displaced, medically vulnerable, and navigating recovery with limited support.
Beyond the immediate damage to homes and belongings, disasters create lasting ripple effects—interrupting access to care, increasing chronic stress and trauma, heightening the risk of illness, and destabilizing families long after media attention fades. These challenges do not end when floodwaters recede. They require sustained, community-rooted response and long-term recovery support.
Our Response
A Community-Based Disaster Response Model
JIREH Providers’ responds to disasters with a community-centered, trauma-informed model designed to meet both urgent needs and long-term recovery challenges. Following the January 2024 floods, JIREH mobilized immediately—deploying mobile health services, coordinating large-scale food preparation and delivery, supporting crisis counseling efforts, and providing direct logistical support to ensure essential supplies reached families where they were.
Our response extended beyond emergency relief. JIREH partnered closely with local nonprofits, county agencies, and community leaders to support displaced residents, assist families transitioning out of temporary lodging, deliver household essentials, and maintain a consistent presence at community recovery events. In total, our teams prepared and distributed over 15,000 home-cooked meals, supported medical and mental health access, and helped stabilize households during one of the most challenging periods our community has faced.
Importantly, disaster response is not episodic for JIREH. We continue to strengthen systems, partnerships, and readiness efforts so we can respond swiftly to future floods, public health emergencies, and other crises—before, during, and after they occur.
Our Impact
Lasting Impact Beyond Emergency Response
JIREH’s disaster response efforts have reached thousands of community members—providing medical navigation, prescription refills, medical equipment replacement, mental health support & resources, food security, transportation, and essential supplies to families impacted by the floods. Our sustained presence helped reduce barriers to care, prevent secondary health complications, and restore a sense of safety and dignity during recovery.
Equally important, our work reinforced trust & community resilience. By showing up consistently—at homes, schools, community events, and recovery meetings—JIREH became a reliable bridge between residents and the systems meant to support them. This trust continues to strengthen community resilience, ensuring families know where to turn when future challenges arise.
The impact of disaster response is not measured only in services delivered, but in stability restored, connections built, and communities empowered to recover together.
How You Can Help
Help Us Respond—Today and Tomorrow
Disaster recovery is ongoing, and future emergencies are inevitable. Your support allows JIREH Providers to remain ready, responsive, and rooted in community when the next crisis occurs.
You can make a difference by:
Donating:
Your financial support helps sustain our disaster response capacity—funding emergency supplies, transportation, mobile health services, meals, and on-the-ground staffing when communities need it most.
Volunteering:
From logistics and outreach to healthcare and event support, volunteers play a critical role in helping us meet urgent and evolving needs.
Staying Engaged:
Share our work, advocate for equitable disaster recovery, and help ensure that communities like Southeast San Diego are not forgotten once the immediate crisis passes.
Together, we can ensure that disaster response is not just reactive—but resilient, equitable, and community-led.
