Episode 115 : "Surviving Katrina, learning from tragedy, and all about community"

Hungry for More : an Epicurean's Dilemma

He survived Hurricane Katrina and the hurdles and challenges he faced are the reasons he's in his current line of work. Daniel Aldrich is a professor of Political Science, Public Policy and Urban Affairs and the director of Security and Resilience Studies Program at Northeastern University. He's also carried out more than five years of field work in Japan, India, Africa, and the Gulf Coast. He was displaced by Hurricane Katrina, his home flooded and everything he and his family owned was destroyed. It was during the aftermath Aldrich learned a lot of hard lessons. "I thought, who's going to save us. I had this vision in my head the federal government was going to save us," Aldrich explains, "at the end of the day, may be our insurance will pay for all of this damage. Of course, as it is always the case, the government, nor insurance actually helped at all in that process. All the aid we got came from within our network, people that we knew or barely knew." Aldrich also talked about the dangers in rebuilding too fast or rebuilding communities just as they were. He gives incredible insight and guidance for communities trying to figure out the "what's next" right now. He says at the end of the day, communities will save communities and it's neighbors helping neighbors that is the most important.