Red Cross Community Adaptation Program in New Jersey Helps Atlantic County Prepare for Disasters

Disasters often expose weaknesses in a community’s ability to respond and recover.

Many struggling areas already face challenges like food insecurity, limited healthcare, and unstable housing.

When a storm, flood, or heatwave hits, these problems get worse.

That’s exactly why the American Red Cross Community Adaptation Program (CAP) was created.

Rather than responding only after an emergency, CAP focuses on helping communities prepare ahead of time by strengthening local support systems.

This program has already been introduced in places like California and Florida, and in September 2023, it officially launched in Atlantic County, New Jersey.

Leading the effort is Kristie Collins, the Community Disaster Risk Reduction Manager.

She collaborates with local organizations to help them build the capacity and infrastructure necessary for an effective disaster response.

Over the past ten years, the number of billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. has doubled.

While Atlantic County hasn’t been hit as hard as some other areas, it still faces flooding, drought, nor’easters, and hurricanes.

Certain parts of the county, including Atlantic City, are considered food deserts, meaning residents don’t have easy access to grocery stores or fresh food.

This makes disaster recovery even harder because people who already struggle to get food during normal times have even fewer options after a crisis.

CAP works to address this challenge before it happens.

Instead of waiting for a disaster to strike and then scrambling to provide aid, CAP works to build strong relationships with local nonprofits ahead of time.

If organizations already have the resources, staff, and partnerships they need before an emergency, they can respond more quickly and effectively during a crisis.

Kristie Collins wasn’t always involved in disaster preparedness.

She had been working in the Red Cross’s Biomedical Services division when she first learned about CAP in 2023.

At that time, the program was still new, with only ten teams across the country.

She saw its potential to create real change and took on the responsibility of leading CAP in Atlantic County.

Her first major test came later that year when she was deployed as a CAP liaison during Hurricanes Francine and Milton in late 2023.

During this deployment, she worked with disaster relief teams and CAP partners to get food and supplies and help those in need.

She saw firsthand how the relationships and CAP’s early efforts paid off.

Relief teams didn’t have to waste time figuring out where to send supplies or how to reach the most vulnerable communities—they were able to act quickly because the groundwork had already been done.

Through this experience, she also realized that every community has different needs.

For example, in parts of Mississippi, residents live far from hospitals, so CAP focuses on setting up mobile health clinics.

In Atlantic County, the biggest concerns are food and housing, which is why the program works closely with local food banks, meal distribution programs, and housing support services.

Since its launch in Atlantic County, CAP has partnered with more than 21 local organizations to strengthen disaster response efforts.

Some of these partners include:

• Mighty Writers Atlantic City, which provides after-school writing workshops and distributes food and groceries.
• Friends of Jean Webster, an organization that serves hot meals Monday through Friday and operates a food pantry and community garden.
• Bangladesh Association of South Jersey, which has become the largest food distribution site in Atlantic City, now offers hot meals to those in need.
• Spanish Community Center, a Latino-focused nonprofit that recently started a small food pantry and cooking education program to help residents prepare nutritious meals.

Beyond these local efforts, CAP has also partnered with larger organizations, such as the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Boys & Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity, and The Salvation Army.

With these partnerships, local nonprofits get the support they need to expand their services and respond more effectively during disasters.

One major event that brought these organizations together was the Connecting the Dots Partner Luncheon, which took place in January 2024 at The Noyes Art Garage of Stockton University in Atlantic City.

Nearly 20 local organizations attended, using the event to network, share ideas, and improve coordination.

Events like these help strengthen partnerships so that when an emergency happens, everyone already knows how to work together.

Looking ahead, the CAP team has scheduled a Mock Disaster Tabletop Exercise for April.

This exercise will create a disaster scenario, allowing nonprofits to practice their response.

They will be more prepared for a real emergency after working through the situation in a controlled setting.