Rebuilding Lives Post-Disaster

Social workers are increasingly engaged in supporting individuals and communities in long-term disaster recovery. Rebuilding Lives Post-Disaster brings together an international team of social work researchers who have investigated the experiences, perspectives, challenges, and complexities in disaster recovery. It features country case studies drawing from field research undertaken in disaster-affected communities in Canada, the United States, Australia, India, Pakistan, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and China. In so doing, the volume provides a comprehensive perspective on the realities of disaster recovery and explores key concepts such as resilience, community-based disaster risk reduction, and social and gendered construction of vulnerability and capabilities. Undergraduate and graduate students and professionals in the fields of social work, community development, international social work, emergency management, and related fields will find the text to be a helpful resource.

Julie L. Drolet, PhD, MSW, is Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary's Central and Northern Alberta Region (CNAR) in Edmonton, Alberta. She is also Principal Investigator of the Rebuilding Lives Post-Disaster research partnership.

Part I: Rebuilding Lives Post-Disaster Partnership
1. Introduction
Julie L. Drolet and Amy Fulton

2. Literature Review
Crystal Kwan and Julie L. Drolet

3. Methodology
Haorui Wu and Julie L. Drolet

Part II: Country Case Studies
4. British Columbia Wildfires: Recovery and Renewal Ten Years Post-Disaster
Grant Larson and Julie L. Drolet

5. 'At the End of the Road': The Effects of the Johnsons Landing Landslide in a Rural and Remote Community in British Columbia, Canada
Julie L. Drolet

6. Global Resilience through Opportunities for Women (GROW): Applied Strategies from the United States in the Context of Environmental Hazards
Robin L. Ersing

7. The Impact of Slow-Onset and Catastrophic Climate Events on Mental Health and Well-Being in Australia: Understanding the Relevance of the Environment to Social Work Practice
Margaret Alston and Tricia Hazeleger

8. Post-Tsunami Recovery in South India: Including the Excluded
Miriam Samuel, Julie L. Drolet, and Haorui Wu

9. The Role of Women in Rebuilding Lives Post-Disaster in Pakistan: A Gendered Analysis
Golam M. Mathbor

10. Women Leaders' Agency in Community-Based Organizations: The Study of the 921 Earthquake
Yen Yi Huang and Chaohsing Huang

Part III: Lessons from Recovery and Reconstruction Initiatives
11. Enhancing Women's Mental Health and Well-Being Following a Natural Disaster: Lessons from the 2004 Tsunami in Sri Lanka
Lena Dominelli

12. After the Wenchuan Earthquake: Harmonization of Physical Reconstruction and Social Reconstruction in China
Haorui Wu

13. Post-Disaster Experiences: Lessons from the Frontline
Desley Hargreaves

Part IV: Conclusion
14. Conclusion
Julie L. Drolet