Emergency Relief

Hogar de Cristo is not an emergency-response organization; however, we can’t remain indifferent when natural disasters occur—such as earthquakes, fires, mudslides, or floods. In such circumstances, we mobilize our solidarity immediately. We focus on protecting human dignity, from on-the-ground assistance to long-term recovery for the most vulnerable families.

The organization has 82 years of experience building inclusion across Chile and is present at every major disaster or emergency as First Response. Its scope, permanent presence, and network across Chile, from Arica to Punta Arenas (over 200 programs serving more than 31,000 people annually), give it deep knowledge of these communities. First-response actions deliver water, food, and shelter until social programs are established during the complex reconstruction process, including trauma management.

Our experience with previous disasters has shown on the ground that, beyond providing food, cleaning, debris removal, reconstruction, and ensuring homes are habitable, it is essential to establish trauma-management programs for PTSD, which require long-term work.

A few images below show disasters in which Hogar de Cristo has been involved in First Response and has remained on the ground to support trauma management.