1. Improvisation and Flexibility
of Faith-based Hurricane Evacuation Shelters
A Qualitative Analysis of Organizational
Members’ Experiences and Planning
R. Tyler Spradley, Elizabeth Spradley, & Larry J. King
Stephen F. Austin State University

2. Hurricane evacuation in us coastal states
Impacts Urban and Rural Areas
Historically, more attention is given to heavier populated areas
The US Coastal States have large areas of rural populations
Hurricanes can extend threat and damage beyond the coastline to hundreds of miles inland
The scope of hurricane damage is not known beforehand
Requires Intra-Organizational Responses
Multi-Agency Emergency Response
Multi-Organizational Types: Government (at various levels), Businesses, Non-Profits (including faith-based organizations)
In General, Less Populated Areas are Less Prepared

3. Intra-organizational response in small communities using faith-based organizations for shelters
This study examines small communities preparation for intra-organizational response in the event of a hurricane.
The study is limited in scope to two communities with less than 50K residents in a western coastal state.
All churches listed on community hurricane evacuation shelter lists were contacted and leaders were interviewed.
Most leaders did not know their respective plans.
Out of six churches, two had plans to assist their communities and plans to reliably manage their own facilities.
Most churches referred us to the Red Cross or a Red Cross trainer
Interviews and materials were collected from those local Red Cross representatives or trainers
Shelter Management Handouts, How to Request Food and Water, Planning for Meals, Contacts, Guidelines, Mandates

4. The Ecology of Faith-based Hurricane evacuation
Organizations are grounded in action (Fairhurst & Putnam, 2004)
Organizational discourses cohere in specific ecologies as bodies, sites, and objects (Ashcraft, Kuhn & Coleen, 2008) interrelate
Embodied knowledge: training, expertise, experience
Evacuee bodies: level of care needs
Complex and High Risk Sites: crisis events – e.g. Hurricanes, evacuation shelters
Objects: tools such as operational forms and checklists, equipment, signage
Practices, which are socio-material (Orlikowski, 2008) in nature, can constrain and enable organizations
In general, findings demonstrated these sites were loosely concerned with evacuation protocol or procedures
Leaders were more concerned about knowing who to call or who they could legally make responsible
Leaders lacked embodied knowledge on evacuation shelters, disaster response, and intra-organizational coordination
Leaders were more concerned about facility usage and legal protections and resources
Leaders lacked a desire to know the content of Red Cross resources or even their own policies on the matter

5. Lessons learned
Rigidity of procedures and policies (i.e. – through the Red Cross) can increase improvisational flexibility by protecting evacuees and volunteers from hazards; avoid creating new crises. When standard operating practices are developed by external organizations like the Red Cross, this standardization provides clear and accessible practices that ensure reliable provision across multiple sites. Documents serve as embodied expertise.
Loosely coupled, smaller sized faith-based organizations can be devalued by thinking in the guidelines of standard practices. Small sized organizations may offer the adaptability necessary to adjust spontaneously. While rural response will lack many resources, the lack of resources will leave a wider opportunity for improvisation and flexibility.
Training and coordination are central assets. Size of an organization (resource availability) may not equate to volunteers or quality of care, but training and coordination do have positive influence on improvisation and flexibility.
Local scaling up of sheltering practices will enhance local intra-organizational coordination. The organizing efforts of a community will greatly increase when it site-specific documents are generated and appropriate level expertise is present in leadership roles. Simulations and tabletop exercises positively impact improvisation and flexibility.

6. Improvisation and Flexibility
of Faith-based Hurricane Evacuation Shelters
A Qualitative Analysis of Organizational
Members’ Experiences and Planning
R. Tyler Spradley, Elizabeth Spradley, & Larry J. King
Stephen F. Austin State University