America’s disaster relief systems are under increased distress, as they attempt to address the combined challenges of both natural disasters and the pandemics. At the same time, the seemingly unbroken chain of emergencies over the past few years have started to cause volunteer organizations to weaken, as the people who used to travel across the nation to help others are starting to do so in smaller numbers.
Speaking to the New York Times, president of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster Greg Forrester has stated he expects the number of disaster volunteers to decline by 50%, while also observing that these reduced numbers won’t allow disaster nonprofits to meet the needs of survivors.
With America heading back into hurricane season, and wildfire season in progress in the West, the need for volunteers to help with disaster relief will remain high, but it’s unclear whether the support will be there.
Source:
https://earther.gizmodo.com/disaster-fatigue-is-real-and-the-coronavirus-could-make-1844079719
