Above photo: Germantown resident Alex McNeil (left) tries using the equipment passed around during a GREAT emergency preparedness workshop. Pryce Jamison.
In Philly’s Germantown, residents are learning practical preparedness skills — from water storage to power outage planning.
While building the neighborhood networks that help communities survive disasters.
Dominique London knows most of her neighbors in Germantown are unequipped and unprepared for any emergencies or disasters that may strike.
“America in general is a very exceptionalist society where we think things happen around us, but not to us,” says London, who has been an educator on emergency preparedness and climate resilience in her community for the past six years and previously helped coordinate the City of Philadelphia’s public health response during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It’s important to recognize that you are the help that is coming,” she says. “There is no large-scale disaster relief team coming — it makes sense to start coming up with strategies when government responses are either too slow or nonexistent.”
Since January, she has been facilitating Germantown Residents Economic Alternatives Together (GREAT)’s emergency preparedness workshop series, designed to help community members in Germantown build readiness skills for emergencies as well as long-term climate resilience. It’s part of the Germantown Climate Resilience Planning Project, created through the nonprofit’s partnership with Drexel University’s Academy of Natural Sciences.
The workshops have focused on general emergency preparedness, food and water storage, and living through power outages – topics London selected through her own “lived experience” as well as the unique natural and built environment of Northwest Philadelphia, she says.
“When there’s a storm or any breeze, a tree is falling,” says London, who holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning with a focus in emergency management and disaster mitigation from Temple University. “And when there’s a fallen tree, you can always guarantee that there’s going to be a power outage.”
Germantown is also particularly prone to urban flash flooding: the old creeks and sewers that parts of the neighborhood were built upon often become overwhelmed during storms, and gentrification-driven development has increased the amount of impervious surfaces in the area. The city has been working for years to mitigate the impact of flooding through green stormwater infrastructure, discounted flood insurance and other measures.
But GREAT, which has been working to improve neighborhood water resilience since 2023, wants residents to know they can take action to protect their own households, too.
“Leave space for everyone to ask questions and share, and then take the information that I’ve given you and share what you’ve learned to the wider community,” London instructed attendees during the Feb. 10 workshop.
That session focused on how residents can prepare and safely store an emergency stock of food and water for if they need to shelter in place. Attendees learned about pantry building, recordkeeping, identifying expiration dates, water filtration, pest protection and other skills.
Nearly every attendee could point to at least one particular experience that had prompted them to join the session.
For Germantown resident Alex McNeil, it was the water pipe freezing in his home during the historically cold winter, shutting off use of his main bathroom, shower and washing machine.
“What happens if this does happen and I’m snowed in and can’t get out of the house?” McNeil says. “That [pipe break] is an example of what led me to be initially interested and continue to learn as much as possible.”
In each session, London shares information about specific equipment and product recommendations at various price points – including do-it-yourself options, when possible – to ensure accessibility.
At the most recent workshop — focused on identifying energy sources to prepare for power outages, power surges, electromagnetic pulses, solar flares and blackouts — London passed around a generator, a portable stove, batteries, propane tanks and other tools among attendees, explaining how to store and operate each piece of equipment safely.
Beyond building skills and learning about preparedness equipment, McNeil says that one of the most valuable aspects of the workshop series has been deepening relationships among local community members.
“There isn’t a government entity that’s really going to save us or make a difference, whether it’s [addressing a lack] of water, power, or food, it’s about understanding that these solutions need to be local,” he says. “The neighborhood and community level is what’s going to sustain us in a time of crisis.”
It’s an idea that’s been borne out by research. A 2022 study in two Boston neighborhoods vulnerable to flooding and heat waves found that residents who were more connected with neighbors and local networks were more likely to know about resources and services that could help them.
“Being socially isolated while trying to deal with an extreme weather event can be deadly, particularly for those who are more susceptible to dying from extreme weather,” Rev. Vernon Walker, a co-author of the study, told Nexus Media News.
Since 2020, GREAT has been working to develop these networks through its Community Connectors program, which focuses on organizing problem-solving and proactive preparation work at the block- and building-level. This year, from April to October, the group will be facilitating efforts by hyperlocal groups of neighbors to protect against water and flood disruptions. GREAT has also produced a guide for local organizers to advance emergency preparedness and community self-reliance among neighbors.
“No one plans for disaster,” says attendee Sumunya Sumi, who also lives in Germantown. “But if we don’t take the steps to understand what we should prepare for … the disaster, the trauma, the conflicts are going to be that much greater.”
But Sumi adds that it’s important for attendees to realize that one workshop won’t make them an expert: “You’re not going to be able to do a split or touch your toes after one day of yoga class. It takes a number of sessions and practice.”
The next and final event of the emergency preparedness series will be a “make-and-take” workshop on emergency medicine.
“I’m going to bring in some herbs and some jars,” London says. “Folks are going to make their own blends based on their needs, and add the first item in their apothecary.”
