Equipping NYC neighborhoods for flash floods and extreme heat

• Proactive disaster preparedness: United Way’s United We Prepare initiative, supported by Verizon Community Disaster Resilience, helps U.S. communities, including New York City, shift from reacting to extreme weather events to actively building long-term readiness before crises hit. 
• Emergency kits tailored to specific weather events: The initiative equips residents with gear and necessities tailored to local risks, providing flash flood supplies like waterproof document bags in waterfront areas and cooling items in heat-prone neighborhoods. 
• Empowering local youth: As part of a Resiliency Youth Fellowship, high school students act as ambassadors to distribute thousands of preparedness bags, lead community workshops and share safety information with their neighbors.

Sha-King Smith has lived in New York City his entire life. But recently, the 19-year-old Brooklyn resident has seen extreme weather disrupt daily activities and threaten the safety of people he cares about. During flash flood warnings in the Red Hook neighborhood, his girlfriend often has to miss school to avoid being stranded by a public transit shutdown. In Far Rockaway, Queens, his mother frequently navigates downpours and fast-rising floodwaters while running errands.

“Honestly, I’ve been impacted by heat and floods pretty often, especially this year,” Smith says. “Mother Nature’s been throwing a lot at us.”

To help his neighbors and loved ones navigate these hazards, Smith became a Resiliency Youth Ambassador, joining a group of fellow high school students trained in disaster preparedness. The ambassadors serve as on-the-ground advocates, sharing vital safety information and emergency resources.

This outreach effort is part of a broader collaboration: Verizon Community Disaster Resilience supporting United Way’s United We Prepare initiative. Together, they have brought hands-on activities to 18 U.S. locations, including New York City, to ready communities for extreme weather events and other natural hazards. These efforts reflect the broader mission of Verizon’s Community Disaster Resilience program, which partners with like-minded organizations to help communities prepare for, respond to and recover from crises with greater confidence.

As part of this work, Verizon supports United Way of New York City in conducting disaster preparedness education, hands-on workshops, kit packing and emergency-kit distribution events across all five boroughs, including a street fair at the school the student ambassadors attend.

These efforts are tailored to meet the risks of each neighborhood:

• In waterfront communities such as Red Hook and Far Rockaway, distribution events focus on flash flood kits stocked with a flashlight, waterproof document bags, boot coverings and a phone charger. 
• In areas especially prone to high heat, like the Bronx, kits provide items such as cooling towels, a portable fan, electrolytes and a first-aid kit.

Empowering local youth like Smith to distribute these resources is intentional. “Using our community members to talk to their own community is where the real magic happens,” says Alessandra Angarita, senior director of volunteerism at United Way of New York City. “They are trusted messengers.”

To date, United Way of New York City has distributed several thousand preparedness bags, guided families in building personal emergency plans and, thanks to the efforts of the Resiliency Youth Ambassadors, helped nearly 1,000 New Yorkers sign up for the city’s emergency alert system. Beyond on-the-ground outreach, the partnership also funds innovative educational tools. For example, United Way of New York City is creating a children’s emergency readiness book and also adapting it into a video.

For Verizon and United Way, the objective is moving beyond simply responding to extreme weather events and, instead, actively building long-term readiness before the next natural disaster hits.

“These events help families and communities come together to support one another in times of need, especially during natural disasters and extreme weather conditions,” says April Horton, regional director for external and state government affairs at Verizon. “We’re staying connected, which is at the core of who Verizon is.”

For Angarita, the success of that ongoing work ultimately comes down to peace of mind. “I would love to see every New Yorker feel confident and be armed with information,” she says. “To say, ‘I know what to do, and I know how to be prepared.’”