The Community Adaptation Program is an immersive collaboration with local community nonprofits. Together, we create innovative enhancements that extend the nonprofit’s community reach and fortify its ability to continue providing essential services during times of local disasters.
With each local partner, we craft purposeful enhancements to boost their capacity, capability and continuity to provide vital services like health and mental health support, nutritious food and secure housing for underserved local families.
Partners lead the enhancement design process, leveraging their expertise and local knowledge.
We provide support, resources and expertise to ensure the partner’s vision guides the enhancement. We work together to create effective solutions that address community challenges and are sustainable.
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Video: One of our organization’s new initiatives — the Community Adaptation Program — is focused on strengthening local partner networks in communities with chronic disaster risks and socioeconomic issues.
The American Red Cross, through its Community Adaptation Program (CAP), is proud to support this vital organization with the donation of a Chevrolet BrightDrop electric van that will allow the organization to support vulnerable people during a disaster.
The Monterey-based CAP team hosted a powerful and inspiring bus tour for our transformational donors and supporters, offering a firsthand look at the incredible work and partnerships in action. The day was filled with meaningful conversations, community engagement and a shared commitment to building resilience across the Central Coast.
Arranged by our Central Coast Chapter Board Member Mark Phillips, we began our journey at Granite Construction, a long-standing Red Cross partner. Here, we set the stage for the day with an overview of CAP’s mission, progress to date, and what participants could expect as we visited key partner sites.
As part of the worsening climate crisis, disasters are becoming more frequent and intense. In the last 10 years, over 8.5 million people were forced from their homes by extreme weather in the United States and the number of billion-dollar disasters has increased by 70%.
The climate crisis is disproportionately affecting lower-income families, older adults, diverse communities and people with disabilities.
*Does not reflect future locations
Gabriela “Gaby” Perez Albarracin served as the Community Disaster Risk Reduction Coordinator in Lake County, CA, where she assessed and addressed the needs of vulnerable populations. Her responsibilities included identifying and supporting food security focusing on reducing disaster impacts on human lives. Having joined the Red Cross in 2019, Gaby has held various roles, including serving as an AmeriCorps member in the Preparedness Department and later as the Program Manager for the California AmeriCorps Disaster Team (CADT) with the Pacific Division. She has also been deployed to multiple disaster relief operations. Before joining the Red Cross, she worked for the municipality in La Paz, Bolivia, where she was born and raised.
Lucy's journey with the Red Cross began in January 2018 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, where she served as an intern in Disaster Services and Volunteer Services. She served in leadership roles for multiple disaster responses as well as a coordinator for the Sound the Alarm campaign and the youth preparedness program, the Pillowcase Project.
After relocating to Okinawa, Japan, she continued her work with the Red Cross by supporting the Air Force's 18th Medical Group at Kadena Air Base for three years.
In February 2024, she returned to Camp Pendleton and joined Team 54, eventually deploying as a Services to the Armed Forces/International Services Regional Program Specialist site lead in Latvia where she oversaw support for two NATO bases with more than 100 volunteers per base.
Maria Magaña has served as a System Change Community Organizer for the Tri-County area of Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey Counties for the past ten years at Central Coast Center for Independent Living.
With a background in community development, social justice, advocacy, and grassroots organizing, Maria brings a multifaceted approach to addressing systemic issues and fostering positive change in our community for underserved communities. In her role, she worked closely with diverse stakeholders, including local government agencies, non-profit organizations, community members, and marginalized populations, to identify and address the root causes of social inequities.
As a Disaster Risk Reduction Coordinator for our Community Adaptation Program (CAP), Maria is dedicated to community empowerment, capacity-building, and collective action to create a Monterey County where every individual can thrive.
Through community engagement, policy analysis, and strategic planning, Maria strives to create sustainable solutions that promote equity, justice, and inclusivity for all residents.
