A FEMA disaster preparedness meeting about ‘focusing efforts on LGBTQIA+’ victims has resurfaced following the agency’s response to Hurricane Helene.
In a virtual meeting from March 2023, FEMA Emergency Management Specialist Tyler Atkins alarmingly said the agency was prioritizing LGBTQ people because they are ‘already disadvantaged.’
‘They already have their own things to deal with. So you add a disaster on top of that, it’s just compounding on itself,’ Atkins, who uses he/they pronouns, told the panel.
It comes as FEMA has faced mounting backlash in the weeks since Hurricane Helene tore through the southeast and killed at least 227 people, amid allegations the agency ‘ran out of money’ after spending billions on illegal immigrants.
FEMA Emergency Management Specialist Tyler Atkins told a March 2023 virtual conference that the disaster agency should be ‘focusing efforts on LGBTQIA+’ victims
It comes as FEMA has faced mounting backlash in the weeks since Hurricane Helene tore through the southeast (pictured in North Carolina) amid allegations the agency ‘ran out of money’ after spending billions on illegal immigrants
In the past two years, FEMA – the Federal Emergency Management Agency – has reportedly handed out over $1 billion of taxpayer dollars to fund the housing of illegal immigrants.
This figure sparked outrage in the wake of Helene, with residents in flood-hit North Carolina claiming the response from FEMA has left them disappointed and relying on volunteers.
FEMA has denied inappropriate allocation of funds.
While victims say they have been left scrambling for survival, some critics resurfaced Atkins’ March 2023 remarks as they slammed FEMA’s priorities.
In the clip, which has racked up over 15 million views since it was shared on X on Sunday, Atkins argued that LGBTQ victims should receive more support because they would have been ‘already struggling’ before a natural disaster.
‘That is the ‘why’ for why we’re having these discussions,’ he continued. ‘It isn’t being talked about and it isn’t being socialized – we’re not paying attention to this community.’
He then passed the conversation to Maggie Jarry, a senior emergency management specialist at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
She claimed that rather than helping as many people as possible, FEMA should instead adopt a policy of ‘disaster equity’ that prioritizes people from minority communities.
Atkins raised eyebrows in the resurfaced clip as he called for prioritizing LGBTQ people because they are ‘already disadvantaged’, saying: ‘They already have their own things to deal with. So you add a disaster on top of that, it’s just compounding on itself’
Maggie Jarry, a senior emergency management specialist at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, argued that FEMA should focus on ‘disaster equity’ rather than being ‘designed for the greatest good, for the greatest amount of people’
At least 227 people died as a result of Hurricane Helene (pictured in Asheville, North Carolina) as FEMA has come under scrutiny for its response
‘There are a couple of things intersecting in my mind here. One is the culture of emergency management as an organization, as an industry in the United States specifically, not abroad,’ she said.
‘The shift that we’re seeing right now is a shift in emergency management from utilitarian principles — where everything is designed for the greatest good, for the greatest amount of people — to disaster equity.’
A similar line can be found on FEMA’s own website, where it lists its ‘Goal 1’ as: ‘Instill Equity as a Foundation of Emergency Management.’
‘Underserved communities, as well as specific identity groups, often suffer disproportionately from disasters. As a result, disasters worsen inequities already present in society,’ the website states.
FEMA’s website lists its ‘Goal 1’ as instilling ‘equity as a foundation of emergency management’
‘This cycle compounds the challenges faced by these communities and increases their risk to future disasters. By instilling equity as a foundation of emergency management and striving to meet the unique needs of underserved communities, the emergency management community can work to break this cycle and build a more resilient nation.’
While noting that it is illegal to deliver assistance ‘on the grounds of race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, language accessibility, or economic status’, it says this ‘cannot be done through a one-size-fits-all approach.’
‘Instead, FEMA must be aware of, and responsive to, the needs of different individuals and communities to ensure that the benefits of FEMA programs are available.’
Months after he hosted the Zoom seminar, Atkins was also praised by FEMA Director Deanne Criswell on X.
Criswell said Atkins ‘brings our equity mission to life’, explaining: ‘He provides valuable opportunities for our workforce to learn how to best support and prepare communities—especially the LGBTQ+ community—for disaster.’
Helene brought widespread destruction across the southeast and caused upwards of $400 billion in damage
FEMA’s resources will be stretched even further as Hurricane Milton is forecast to make landfall on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm (the hurricane’s expected path is pictured)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents to evacuate before it is too late, urging Floridians to ‘take this storm very seriously’
In the wake of Hurricane Helene – which has been estimated to have brought well over $400 billion in damage – FEMA has come under scrutiny for its response.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted last week that the agency ‘does not have the funds to make it through the season’, despite the billions spent on housing illegal immigrants.
And while much of northern Florida up to North Carolina has been left devastated, FEMA will also be stretched as Hurricane Milton makes landfall this week.
Milton is currently forecast to make landfall in Florida as a Category 5 hurricane on Wednesday morning, with meteorologists warning it could be even worse than Helene.
Six million residents are under hurricane watch warnings and many have been ordered to evacuate as ‘life-threatening’ nine-foot-high storm surges and winds of up to 150mph barrel in.
After declaring a state of emergency, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents to evacuate before it is too late.
‘Tropical Storm Milton is expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida, current estimates are Wednesday at about 5pm but there’s still a lot of uncertainty on that,’ DeSantis said, speaking at the Emergency Operations Center.
‘I’d urge Floridians to take this storm very seriously – do not get wedded to the cone.’
