Ineffective Disaster Aid in America by Gwen Tuffnell

As a Wauwatosa East junior in American Public Policy, students choose a problem in their community to focus on. To raise awareness for their project students have the option to write a press release. Below is “Ineffective Disaster Aid in America” by Gwen Tuffnell. 

In the age of extreme climate change, natural disasters’ severity and frequency continue to rise. Therefore, response and aid to those disasters must become more streamlined and refined to help as many people as possible. Federal agencies like FEMA bear the brunt of support and aid for most emergencies. This leads to their forces becoming very thin-spread, and decreases response time to larger disasters. To combat this, the federal government must be persuaded to pass laws to better distribute the authority measures in states of emergencies. The states need to be better equipped and trained to handle emergencies at a more local level. Local communities know their land and residents best, and therefore are most knowledgeable, with proper training and supplies, how to provide the most effective aid.