First-Ever U.S. Christian Disaster Research Center to Equip Local Churches

The nation’s first faith-based academic disaster research center located at Wheaton College in Illinois, aims to equip Christian churches and organizations to respond to natural catastrophes in the best way possible.

Wheaton College launched the Humanitarian Disaster Institute (HDI) just before the start of the fall semester. It is also one of the few disaster or humanitarian centers in the Midwest, according to school officials.

The institute is using its experience in Haiti and a planned trip to tsunami-affected areas in Japan to equip relief organizations.

“Our main mission is to equip the church in society to respond to disasters,” Psychology department professor and HDI co-director Jamie D. Aten told The Christian Post. “As part of that work, we are looking at disasters across the whole continuum, not just the event, but also what makes a community or region more vulnerable to disasters.”

The institute will also be looking at the different factors that make an area more likely to have difficulty in recovering because of issues such as poverty, health struggles, and political unrest.

“We look at what is needed to help communities become more resilient and to develop in recovery from disaster,” Aten said. “We hope to be a resource and dissemination center for local churches as well as domestic and international faith-based organizations.” To read more, click here.