Hagerty partners with state and local governments to design, plan, and operationalize comprehensive emergency sheltering programs that support communities before, during, and after disasters. From hurricanes and wildfires to large-scale displacement events and complex emergencies, we help clients build scalable, survivor-centric solutions that provide safe refuge, essential services, and a clear path toward recovery.
Our sheltering operations incorporate nationally recognized best practices aligned with American Red Cross and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standards.
Hagerty’s core services include:
- Overall incident coordination and program management support, including leadership and support roles within Command Centers, Emergency Operations Centers (EOC), Incident Management Teams (IMT), and program offices.
- On-site operational and logistic support at shelters and service centers to coordinate safety, health, and functional needs requirements through experienced professionals and trusted teaming partners.
- Executive-level policy analysis, research, and strategic planning.
- Stakeholder outreach/engagement, including coordination with governmental, private sector, Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), and non-governmental organization (NGO) partners.
- Shelter design and site selection; Special Needs Shelter (SNS) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance reviews; medical, clinical, and personal care support teams; health screenings; and coordination of accessible transportation.
- Data collection, analytics, and visualization/reporting for executives and decision-makers, including operational intelligence, trend analysis, and cost recovery information.
- Long-term recovery and resilience support, including cost recovery documentation, funding eligibility analysis, expenditure tracking, and public health system recovery support.
Our Approach: People First
Hagerty has effectively applied traditional crisis and emergency management expertise to the unique demands of emergency sheltering environments.
Our capabilities include:
- Designing, standing up, and operating accessible sheltering centers that housed thousands of clients through centralized support structures and on-site management.
- Serving as a liaison between social services, emergency management, public health, and medical partners to support coordinated operations, information sharing, and collaboration.
- Developing community engagement strategies, after-action reports (AAR), and unmet needs assessments that support a people-first, trauma-informed approach to operations.
- Instituting the core elements of the Incident Command System (ICS) to establish structure and span of control while adapting these concepts for non-emergency management audiences.
Case Studies
Shelter Coordination and Onward Travel Program
Hagerty mobilized an on-site IMT, with advisors spanning emergency management, data analytics, human services, public health, and NGO operations, to support a sheltering and onward travel program. Our team coordinated closely with multiple state agencies, vendors, and NGOs to develop operational plans, policies, and protocols, including contingency measures to address fluctuations in shelter arrivals across both site-specific and mission-wide operations.
Large Scale Sheltering and Mass Care Support
We mobilized a hybrid response team, comprised of both on-site and virtual personnel, to support shelter reception and temporary housing efforts. Hagerty provided end-to-end support, including shelter site selection, intake operations, logistics, shelter management, transportation, transition planning, delivery of essential human services, management of feeding programs, and operational and policy support.
Emergency Housing Mission
Hagerty worked with a state client to respond to a no-notice gas line rupture that displaced nearly 11,000 residents. Our team supported the immediate mass care operation, which transitioned into a temporary housing mission, and continued support as infrastructure in the impacted area was upgraded, and residents were returned to their pre-disaster residences.
Non-Congregate Sheltering
We supported a large-scale public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, encompassing non-congregate sheltering, feeding programs, medical surge staffing, and vaccination administration. The program provided non-congregate sheltering for more than 36,000 people, including frontline medical workers, individuals who were symptomatic or tested positive for COVID-19, and individuals experiencing homelessness. Our team helped design and operate the program while tracking and presenting real-time data to inform policy decisions and support ancillary services such as transportation, food access, and laundry.
