New Technology Helps Your Community Prepare for the Next Disaster

Recovers was developed by Caitria O'Neill, in response to her frustrations with matching volunteers with those in need in the aftermath of a tornado striking her hometown of Monson, Massachusetts. Launched in April, after "a four-month stint
in Code for America's accelerator for civic startups," Recovers provides software, training, and
support to communities for disaster preparation. 

Localities that sign up
for a Recovers subscription, are "given a personalized site (townname.recovers.org) and
access to a web and mobile platform that allows them to match up
donations and volunteers to the people and places that are in need. When
parts of a community lack power and Internet, canvassers can be sent
out to those locations to record requests via iPhone or paper. Recovers
is working with Captricity, another Code for America startup, to make digitally recording these needs easier," says Schwartz. 

"For example, Recovers launched a site for New York City's Lower East Side
after Hurricane Sandy hit. If the disaster relief movement--largely
organized by members of Occupy Wall Street--had signed on before the
hurricane hit, leaders would have had much more time to learn the
Recovers system and think about what they might need post-Sandy. O'Neill
explains: 'I have not put down my email since 4:30 this morning. It's
unsustainable.'"