Organization: Global Empowerment Mission (GEM)
Challenge: Supporting fire survivors in Maui while also tending to the emotional wellbeing of local team members navigating their own recovery journeys.
Outcome: Cards for Calamity provided meaningful emotional support, sparked connection, and offered grounding to both survivors and the helpers walking beside them.
Funder: Made possible thanks to American Eagle, in partnership with Good360
When the devastating wildfires tore through Lahaina in August 2023, the losses were profound—hundreds of homes destroyed, families displaced, and a cherished community forever changed. For those who lived through it, recovery has meant more than replacing what was lost; it has meant navigating the emotional upheaval that follows disaster.
Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) stepped in with vital long-term housing support for those displaced by the fires—helping local families secure safe, stable places to live. But many on GEM’s team are not just responders; they are locals themselves who experienced the disaster firsthand. Having team members who are both survivors and responders means the team is best placed to respond and support the impacted community, but means the team members are carrying the extra weight of their own experience of trauma and community expectation.
That’s where Cards for Calamity offered unexpected strength.
“Our organization works directly with fire survivors, and while Cards for Calamity has been a beautiful gift to offer our clients, it has also supported us as helpers. Even a single card can spark a meaningful conversation. When revisited, the same card can carry new meaning depending on our experiences or the stage of recovery we’re in—whether working with clients or reflecting personally. It’s a simple yet powerful tool that meets people where they are, offering grounding, insight, and connection throughout every phase of the disaster recovery journey.” Christy Mendoza of GEM
Created by Hummingly, Cards for Calamity are full of practical strategies for navigating tough decisions, coping with adversity, and reimagining the future after disaster. Distributed in partnership with Good360 and funded by American Eagle, the cards offered survivors in Maui—and those supporting them—a touchstone for emotional recovery.
The Cards for Calamity have been instrumental in supporting the team members as they process their own experience of the fires and the complex recovery while continuing their essential work in the community.
Each week, the GEM team across Maui comes together for a huddle, providing updates on ongoing projects like housing and construction efforts. The team now uses Hummingly tools such as the Cards for Calamity during their huddle to facilitate conversations about the emotional toll of disaster recovery work. Christy Mendoza, a key leader in the Maui Mission who facilitates these conversations, shared that these sessions have been instrumental in giving the team space to acknowledge and process their shared and individual experiences.
"The team has found it incredibly helpful to have a designated time to connect and share their experiences," Christy explained. "It's allowed our employees to realize they’re not alone in what they’re going through, and to gain clarity and confidence from these discussions."
“One day we used the card with the graph of the recovery journey which highlights the common ebb and flow, the ups and downs. This helped us as a team to reflect on and process the reality that we as a team and as individuals are also going through this same journey."
"It's been helpful to give our employees a space where we could acknowledge what's going on. For our employees, it's given them a time and a place to connect with other people who are experiencing the same thing that they are. And to know that it's okay and to process that.”
The impact of these sessions has been profound. Team members have provided positive feedback, noting that the conversations have helped them catch their breath, gain clarity, and build trust and confidence in one another. Christy, who has a background in counseling and group facilitation, noted that the tools provided by Hummingly were simple yet powerful, enabling her to effectively guide the team through these challenging discussions.
GEM’s partnership with Hummingly has helped Christy provide a much-needed support system for the team in Maui, helping them navigate the complexities of disaster recovery with resilience and compassion.
