People experiencing homelessness during the 2017–2018 California wildfires faced significant risks of disruption. Homeless service organizations (HSOs) are an essential safety net for this population. To learn about how HSOs performed during the wildfires, this study interviewed U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) staff overseeing HSOs providing transitional housing under the VA's Grant and Per Diem (GPD) program to Veterans experiencing homelessness. We employed a comparative case study approach exploring GPD organizations' disaster response actions, including evacuating Veterans from wildfire-affected areas or taking in disaster-displaced Veterans. This article presents three themes in the GPD organizations' disaster response: (1) Organizations benefitted from close collaboration and communication with the VA during the disaster, creating a safety net to ensure Veterans' well-being and enact rapid re-housing to prevent homelessness; (2) Organization staff performed heroically under stressful disaster conditions; and (3) Organizations benefitted from the written disaster plans that VA requires them to create, but were not as well-prepared for wildfires as they had been for earthquakes. As emergent threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, and a very active 2020 hurricane season amplify the importance of mitigating risks, comprehensive disaster planning is needed to ensure the safety and support of people experiencing homelessness.

中文翻译：

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管理意外：无家可归者服务提供商在 2017-2018 年加州野火中的作用

在 2017-2018 年加州野火期间无家可归的人们面临着重大的破坏风险。无家可归者服务组织 (HSO) 是这一人群的基本安全网。为了了解 HSO 在野火期间的表现，本研究采访了美国退伍军人事务部 (VA) 负责监督 HSO 的工作人员，这些工作人员根据 VA 的补助金和每日津贴 (GPD) 计划向无家可归的退伍军人提供过渡性住房。我们采用比较案例研究方法探索 GPD 组织的灾难响应行动，包括从受野火影响的地区疏散退伍军人或接收因灾难流离失所的退伍军人。本文介绍了 GPD 组织灾难响应的三个主题：(1) 组织在灾难期间受益于与 VA 的密切合作和沟通，创建一个安全网以确保退伍军人的福祉并制定快速重新安置以防止无家可归；(2) 组织人员在压力大的灾情下表现英勇；(3) 组织从 VA 要求他们制定的书面灾难计划中受益，但并未像应对地震那样做好应对野火的准备。由于 COVID-19 大流行、野火和 2020 年非常活跃的飓风季节等紧急威胁加剧了减轻风险的重要性，因此需要进行全面的灾难规划，以确保无家可归者的安全和支持。(3) 组织从 VA 要求他们制定的书面灾难计划中受益，但并未像应对地震那样做好应对野火的准备。由于 COVID-19 大流行、野火和 2020 年非常活跃的飓风季节等紧急威胁加剧了减轻风险的重要性，因此需要进行全面的灾难规划，以确保无家可归者的安全和支持。(3) 组织从 VA 要求他们制定的书面灾难计划中受益，但并未像应对地震那样做好应对野火的准备。由于 COVID-19 大流行、野火和 2020 年非常活跃的飓风季节等紧急威胁加剧了减轻风险的重要性，因此需要进行全面的灾难规划，以确保无家可归者的安全和支持。