Calcasieu & Cameron Parishes Resilience Plan
Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes were devastated by Hurricanes Laura and Delta in the Fall of 2020 and weather events in the Spring of 2021.
Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes were devastated by Hurricanes Laura and Delta in the Fall of 2020 and weather events in the Spring of 2021. Following the storms, a generous donation to the Community Foundation SWLA offered an opportunity to infuse hurricane recovery efforts with a comprehensive vision for the broader region. The Just Imagine SWLA project created a 50-year resilience plan for Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes, including creation of 10 specific catalytic projects that will show the potential of the region with corresponding strategies to implement them.
Franklin led all community engagement and communications on this two-parish effort, inclusive of public meeting content development and meeting coordination, development and implementation of a community-based ambassador program, stakeholder engagement, website assistance and social media coordination.
Listening Phase
During the Listening Phase, the Just Imagine team gathered the public’s thoughts on the state of their community and their hopes for the future. During the first round of public meetings in November 2021, the team explored four main questions:
- What do you love about your community?
- What were the problems in your community before the 2020 storms?
- What are the hurdles you are facing now?
- What are your dreams for the future of your community?
After the meetings, Just Imagine SWLA Ambassadors worked to gain further community input by asking these questions to their friends and family and via an online survey. The team received over 300 survey responses, with an additional 1,089 responses from area high school students. The answers to these questions provided the foundation upon which the team built the resilience master plan.
Testing Phase
After presenting the 10 catalytic projects to the community, the Just Imagine team released a comprehensive online survey that allowed respondents to answer questions about the projects that were of interest to them. This survey helped reveal which aspects of each project the community liked, disliked, and were unsure about.
The Just Imagine team received 359 responses on this in-depth survey, which further informed their planning for the catalytic projects.
Deciding Phase
At the end of the final round of public meetings held in June 2022, the team used an exit survey to frame two key questions for each catalytic project: 1) What priority level would you assign this project? and 2) Do you support this project? The team received 70 responses, used to help to prioritize projects based on available resources and to communicate the public’s level of support for the projects.
The Just Imagine resilience plan was successfully crafted and delivered in a nine-month period, with implementation launched in November 2022.As part of the public engagement process for Just Imagine SWLA, Franklin recruited and trained 62 volunteers to serve as project ambassadors. After receiving training, ambassadors gathered community feedback through one-on-one interactions and small group meetings with the community. Franklin ambassadors met with over 1,000 people, and their efforts provided valuable information that helped the Just Imagine team create the 10 catalytic projects.
In addition to holding these meetings, ambassadors contributed to the project in multiple ways, including by helping to promote meetings, volunteering at meetings and events, distributing surveys, and spreading information to the community.
