This “What Should We Tell The Public?” video features Ben Smilowitz, founder and executive director of the Disaster Accountability Project (DAP). After serving as a volunteer in Mississippi in the weeks following Hurricane Katrina, Ben decided there was a need to provide citizen oversight for government and non-profit agencies esponsible for disaster preparedness, response, relief, and recovery. So, he established the Disaster Accountability Project to empower the public.
In the video, Ben urges the public to “ask questions” because “the more questions you ask, the more information you’ll get about local preparedness”. One way you can “ask questions” about local preparedness is as a volunteer Disaster Accountability monitor helping verify gaps in disaster relief services so they can be addressed. You can learn more about DAP’s work on its website. The video was shot at the Natural Hazards Workshop this summer.
BEN SMILOWITZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DISASTER ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT (ABOVE)
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1 On Six-Month Haiti Earthquake Anniversary, Oversight Group Calls For More Transparency From Groups Soliciting Public Relief Donations // Jul 12, 2010 at 7:25 pm
[...] “It is infuriating that so many groups continue to violate the public trust with so much cash-on-hand donated to alleviate suffering on the ground. Shouldn’t we expect more from groups that are raising hundreds of millions of dollars from a public asked to generously donate, immediately after the earthquake?†said Ben Smilowitz, Executive Director, Disaster Accountability Project (and a friend of this blog.) [...]
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