The “Butterfly Effect” project created by Emma Wheeler Homes is funded in part by Open Space Institute in Partnership with Thrive Regional Partnership, the Merck Family Fund, and the Footprint Foundation.

Chattanooga Housing Authority (CHA) has been awarded a grant for the Butterfly Effect Program funded in part by the Open Space Institute, in partnership with Thrive Regional Partnership and support from the Merck Family Fund and the Footprint Foundation to enhance community resilience in Chattanooga.

The grant will be used to not only enhance community resilience and natural disaster preparedness at Emma Wheeler Homes (EWH), but will also reestablish and expand community gardens while offering programming and activities to the community regarding environmental education. The funding is a direct outcome of Emma Wheelers Homes’s participation in the Resilient Communities pilot program, designed by Thrive Regional Partnership and Open Space Institute to engage residents in building nature-based solutions that address environmental challenges and enhance quality of life, especially in underserved areas.

The Butterfly Effect Program is based on the “Butterfly Effect” theory that a small, local change in a complex system can have a large impact elsewhere.

Through the Butterfly Effect Program, a Resilience Advisory Group from Emma Wheeler Homes will develop a leadership team, as well as receive leadership and emergency preparedness training from the Hamilton County Health Department.

The Resilience Advisory Group will meet with the CHA to review, revise, and implement its Emergency Operating Plan, an essential step to ensure that EMH residents have processes and procedures necessary to recover and persist in the event of a natural disaster such as flooding. 

The group will also re-establish and expand the community gardens at Emma Wheeler Homes to restore a collaborative and sustainable community pastime.

The Resilience Advisory Group has forged several partnerships to provide resources and training to ensure the sustainability of the program. Collaborative partners of the Butterfly Effect Project include Chattanooga Howard Connect, Shepherd Arms Rescue Mission, Family Impact Organization, Chattanooga Area Outreach Ministry, GENERATE 360, and the Chattanooga Area Food Bank.