This back-to-school season, WhyHunger is breaking down what our work is all about…starting with our ABCs. Join us to learn the key terms we all – even our littlest readers – need to understand as we work together to end hunger for good!
Crisis Intervention is an immediate response to an urgent issue designed to reduce damage to those affected by a crisis.
WhyHunger is committed to supporting our grassroots partners every step of the way.
Many of their communities are in a constant state of crisis, and natural disasters, pandemic, and violent conflict only escalate that further. Natural and human-made disasters are a major threat to food security. In order to solve hunger in the long-term, communities must be able to weather emergencies and recover from crises.
Our Rapid Response Fund mobilizes funds quickly when disaster strikes. We know that our partners, who live and work in these communities, are the true first responders. So, we assist them with urgent needs for food, water, and medicine, as well as long-term support to rebuild homes, farms, and communities.
In the last three weeks alone, we’ve supported partners in devastating situations from drought-induced famine in Somalia to the water crisis in Mississippi, flooding in Pakistan to hurricane damage in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Florida.
WhyHunger’s crisis intervention efforts and Rapid Response Fund include:
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- Our national Hunger Hotline & Find Food services that, in the last two years, have connected over 2.2 million people to healthy local food and essential services.
- Funding to distribute food, water, medication, and hygiene supplies to impacted communities.
- Support for urban and rural farmers to grow sustainable food and build local distribution infrastructure.
- Funding for food banks and pantries struggling to meet rising demand in the United States.
- Rapid Response grants for communities around the world to engage in natural disaster prevention and recovery.
Welcome to WhyHunger’s Kids’ Corner, where we break down big concepts for our littlest readers. We believe that engaging in justice-centered discussions and activities at home can help kids (and adults!) develop their critical thinking, advocacy, compassion and learning. In this section, you’ll find videos, sing-a-longs, coloring sheets and more to use as a jumping off point for important conversations.
What does Crisis Intervention mean?
A crisis is an big event that causes difficulty, trouble, or danger…like an earthquake, hurricane, or flood. These events can hurt people, damage homes and farms, and make it hard to access food, water, and medical care. An intervention is an action taken to improve things.
So, crisis intervention is an immediate response to a big, harmful event to help people, heal communities, and repair damage.
Responding to a crisis helps those impacted find relief and hope. In the short film below, learn how WhyHunger’s friends in Puerto Rico recovered after Hurricane Maria in 2017. We are in touch with them now as they’re recovering from Hurricane Fiona:
WhyHunger Presents Nourishing People & The Planet: Organización Boricuá
Using the worksheets, answer the following reflection questions with a partner:
- What is the crisis in the video?
- How did learning about the crisis make you feel?
- What are some of the solutions to address the crisis?
- How did learning about the solutions make you feel?
Showing up for our partners in crisis allows them to respond to immediate needs, rebuild their communities, and continue to address the bigger issues that are keeping people hungry. You can find more examples of our crisis response work here.
Learn more about WhyHunger’s Rapid Response Fund.
