The North State is no stranger to disaster. And as natural catastrophes become more common worldwide, figuring out the next steps can feel overwhelming.
“… our recovery would have been significantly faster had we known or learned from other people’s mistakes or successes”- Erin Kennedy, director of case management for BGCNV
Especially when it comes to families with kids.
Several years ago, there were few resources available that explained how disaster recovery works for children.
Then the Camp Fire hit Butte County. It remains the most deadly and destructive wildfire in California’s history.
There was an obvious need for a clearer recovery process, and led to a guide being created from the experiences of Camp Fire survivors to help kids in future disasters.
Why and how the guide was made
The Boys and Girls Clubs of the North Valley (BGCNV) had five sites operating in and around Paradise before the Camp Fire occurred.
About 800 of its families living on the Ridge were displaced by the disaster and the organization's director of case management, Erin Kennedy, said something was needed to help communities working with youth.
“I would say that our recovery would have been significantly faster had we known or learned from other people's mistakes or successes,” Kennedy told NSPR.
So she partnered with Lindsey Nenadal, an assistant professor at Chico State who specializes in child development and had experience conducting interviews and research.
The result of the collaboration was the 61-page manual: “Your Playbook on How to Support Children, Youth, & Families During & After a Wildfire.”
Nendal said despite the name, the guide is useful for any kind of disaster a family might experience.
Help for parents from the guide
Nenadal’s research has found children are often underserved during disasters. Parents can get overwhelmed and sometimes struggle to notice how their kids are being affected.
“If you have the news on repeat, and they're seeing the same images over and over again, that can be really traumatizing to the children to experience again and again,” Nenadal said. “For some children, they might not understand that the disaster has passed.”
“A key piece when you’re talking to children about big feelings is also to talk about what we can do with those feelings.”- Lindsey Nenadal, assistant professor of child development at Chico State
She said attention should be focused on the family, and parents should not be afraid to show their feelings while talking about what happened with their kids.
Her manual has age-appropriate suggestions for having those conversations.
“A key piece when you're talking to children about big feelings is also to talk about what we can do with those feelings,” Nenadal said. “I'm feeling really sad right now, but I'm going to give you a big hug because being with you makes me feel really happy.”
More of Nenadal’s work in disaster recovery
Nenadal’s now on a research team with the organization Project:Camp, and she’s been continuing her work by visiting recent disasters.
“… to hear from the children or the teens themselves about what they need is extremely helpful … hopefully, the more we can do that, the more we can help prepare for future disasters …”- Lindsey Nenadal, assistant professor of child development at Chico State
Project:Camp is a nonprofit that pops up free camps for kids in areas where families have been displaced by disasters.
Last year, she visited the area hit by Hurricane Helene. And at the start of this year, Nenadal travelled to meet children who’d lost their homes in the Eaton and Palisades fires.
“The first day there, the fires are still actively happening,” she said. “People have been evacuated, houses, schools, communities have been lost. And you walk into the space, and it's children running around and having fun and doing activities.”
Nenadal said the camps brought a sense of connection and normalcy to kids when schools were closed.

Trying to maintain those two things is a common theme in the recovery manual, along with remembering to listen.
“Sometimes as adults, we assume we know what everybody needs,” Nenadal said. “But to hear from the children or the teens themselves about what they need is extremely helpful. And hopefully, the more we can do that, the more we can help prepare for future disasters that may happen.”
The manual includes everything from pre-disaster preparation to post-disaster recovery, focusing on how children are best supported during the process.
With the number of climate disasters increasing, communities are turning to Nenadal’s guide.
That includes Boys and Girls Clubs across the nation.
Now, whenever a disaster displaces families, BGCNV sends the recovery guide out to its affiliate clubs.
It’s the resource Kennedy once wished she had after the Camp Fire.