Direct Service and Professional Development During Disaster Recovery Efforts

Disaster recovery professionals often focus on activities such as coalition building, grant development, and technical assistance in impacted communities. While these capacity-building activities are crucial for setting a solid foundation to help any disaster-affected community, direct rebuild services that occur in the field serve the immediate needs of disaster victims. Disaster recovery professionals who participate in direct rebuild services, gain important first-hand knowledge of personal and communal factors that can only be understood at the ground level. This study explains the differences between direct and indirect rebuild services and spotlights how engaging in both service areas help one become a more resilient leader. Following the devastating 2017 hurricane season, many direct service-based disaster rebuild efforts were initiated, including efforts in Puerto Rico through a special program set-up by the State University of New York (SUNY). Volunteer service-based initiatives allow students to develop competencies and insights from experiential-based learning, which ultimately can help students forge careers in disaster recovery