Engaging international communities throughout the disaster cycle in Harris County, Texas

Abstract

In Harris County, Texas, more than a quarter of the population is foreign-born, and almost half of the population speaks a language other than English at home.1 Harris County is composed of 346 ethnic groups with over 145 languages spoken.2 The Harris County Public Health Preparedness and Response (PHPR) Division builds strong bidirectional relationships with international communities in Harris County that have proven invaluable in all phases of the disaster cycle. The PHPR Community Resilience Team maintains and fosters these relationships through various activities, including outreach, education, community resilience workshops and communication networks. Therefore, when a disaster strikes, PHPR can quickly reach out to international community partners who are ready and available to assist their communities alongside PHPR. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.