CECE Whitepaper No. 2: Mobilizing Young People to Help Communities Recover from Disaster–A Case Study of CALCC Programs after the LA Wildfires
How are service corps programs supporting communities as they respond to and recover from disaster? This paper provides insights into who is working in such programs, what are their motivations for serving, and how do they hope to contribute to creating more resilient communities post-disaster. The study integrates data collected from members of three different California-based conservation corps that worked to support communities as they responded to the Wildfires in the Los Angeles area in January 2025. The results, which compare across the three service corps programs, provide insights into who is participating and how these programs can provide workforce development while simultaneously engaging young people to support communities after disaster strikes.
In January 2025, Los Angeles and its surrounding areas were hit with devastating wildfires, causing widespread damage to communities and displacing many from their homes. Communities hit by climate-exacerbated disasters, such as wildfires, rely on the assistance from service corps programs to respond to and recover from the damage. The Workforce Development & the 4Rs project team studied service corps programs that deployed young people to respond to the Wildfires. More analyses and reports are forthcoming based on our recent focus groups and site visits.
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For more information and updates on the project, please go to the project’s research page.
