Community Recovery Resource Center (CRRC) - compassionate citizen centric design

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2019

Hurricane Florence made landfall on September 14, 2018. This catastrophic hurricane left New Hanover County residents cut off from the rest of the mainland by floodwaters hampering resupply efforts. The County’s primary focus while setting up the Community Recovery Resource Center (CRRC) was to ensure our citizens were served in a positive, professional, and efficient manner. In what can only be described as a Herculean effort, the county set up the CRRC in a 100,000 sq. ft. abandoned department store building in a 48-hour period. The CRRC brought together all recovery resources and housed them in a single location. The front area housed the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provided 16,000 residents disaster food stamps. The rear of the building served as a supply warehouse and distribution center, a continuation of the county’s points of distribution that provided over 181,000 meals-ready-to-eat in an 8-day period. Trolleys were used to escort elderly to their vehicles, a play area was developed for children, and mental health crisis counselors were available to citizens and staff. Non-profit partners, unemployment and insurance representatives were on site. The FEMA DRC / SBA Center was co-located next door, making our citizens’ recovery experience compassionate and comprehensive.