Kitchen Chats with Aimee Kandrac Episode 18: Helping After A Disaster

Natural disasters and emergencies can strike at any moment, and it's essential to be prepared. But where do you start? Aimee chats with Chad Priest, Vice President of the Southwest and Rocky Mountain division of the American Red Cross, to discuss practical tips for emergency preparedness. Chad also shares tips for helping others experiencing an emergency -- whether they’re your nextdoor neighbors or miles away.

Episode Highlights

Know your neighbors.

The single best predictor of whether you are able to get through a crisis is whether you know your next door neighbors. That’s because people who know their neighbors tend to do things to help out.

“There’s a point at which the logistics chain just doesn’t work,” Chad said. “Something as simple as having a list of five people around and their names and phone numbers is an enormously resilient strategy -- so much that if you did that and didn’t do anything else, I can pretty much predict you’d be fine during most issues.” 

Chad stressed that digital apps, like Nextdoor, aren’t a substitute for real-world connection. But he knows that meeting the neighbors isn’t as easy as it may sound. 

“I don’t want to sound pedantic about this because this is what I do for a living, and even I don’t know my neighbors, so I’m acutely aware of how difficult this is in the way we’ve organized society,” he said. “We live in a society and our social network ultimately predicts our survival in pretty much every way.”

Stay disciplined during a crisis.

As part of Chad’s work at the Red Cross, he studies actions that can help people better manage during a crisis. One of those markers is to keep a sense of regularity during emergencies. It’s a tactic his family employed during the COVID-19 pandemic by keeping steady wakeup times.

“People who can enforce discipline through change do much better,” Chad said.

Keep 2 days worth of essentials.

Beyond knowing your neighbors and keeping a routine, you can prepare for an emergency by keeping a minimal amount of preparations in your house. A good measure is whether you could get through a day or two without power.

In his basement, Chad keeps water, flashlights, and helmets for tornado-prone Indiana. The Red Cross website has materials to help make sure you’re prepared for different types of emergencies.

It’s okay to be uncomfortable.

What do you say to someone who’s lost their house? Due to Chad’s job, he gets to see people almost always when they’re at their worst, and the best piece of advice he has is to help a friend going through a crisis to be present to their situation. If you don’t know what to say, Chad recommends: “I’m sorry for your loss” or “I’m thinking about you.” 

“You take for granted the invitation you’ve been given to be present with people in that space,” Chad said. “It’s really raw and vulnerable.”

Keep checking in.

The effects of a disaster don’t end when the emergency does, which is why it can be beneficial to keep checking in on friends and family even months later to make sure they know they’re in your thoughts.

‘The truth is that after a disaster there’s a trauma response,” Chad said.

Normal signs of trauma after a disaster include fear, anxiety, stress, inability to sleep, and lack of appetite. If a friend is experiencing these signs, it can be reassuring to tell them this is normal.

“We need to say the events that you find yourself in are abnormal, but that your reaction is completely normal,” Chad said. “Friends can do that for each other.”

Tap into your desire to help.

Humans are hardwired to help after a crisis, but sometimes, you may not have a readily available outlet to help. In that case, Chad recommends leaning into your desire to help by giving time or money to a local organization.

‘We really want you to tap into that and say yes to where you live,” Chad said. “Don’t ignore it. Don’t say there’s nothing I can do. … Do some good.”

Resources + Links

• American Red Cross Resources

• “A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster,” Rebecca Solnit

• Kitchen Chats on YouTube

• Aimee Kandrac: Website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

• WhatFriendsDo: Website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

About Aimee and WhatFriendsDo

Aimee Kandrac is a speaker, consultant, and the co-founder and CEO of WhatFriendsDo. Her work is instrumental for organizing support during life-changing events, and she speaks to organizations about creative ways to help friends and family during times of crisis. Aimee has been recognized as a Top 50 Mompreneur by Babble.com and is the first female CEO in the state of Indiana to close a $500,000 funding round. She has been featured in Forbes, Time, the LA Times, Oprah.com, the Indianapolis Star, and more.

WhatFriendsDo is a simpler way to create organized and actionable support during a time of crisis. The free, online platform empowers healthcare facilities, HR departments, families, and friends to easily coordinate meals, errands, transportation, childcare, communication, and more for those in the midst of a life-changing event. The women-founded and women-led company started as a solution for a friend with terminal cancer. WhatFriendsDo is based out of Indianapolis.