About Us

In 2017, during Hurricane Irma, Heather had the idea for Local Relief.

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With a background in entrepreneurship and Event Management, she viewed disasters through a different lens. While most people saw chaos, Heather saw a massive communication breakdown unfolding in real time. As communities struggled to find trusted information, local resources, and ways to help one another, she began asking herself a simple question:

 

Why isn’t there one place people can go during disasters to find everything they need?

 

In the weeks following the storm, Heather began building the vision for what would eventually become Local Relief - a collaborative, community-driven platform dedicated entirely to disaster communication, local resources, and neighbors helping neighbors. She even named the app “Local Relief” long before it existed.

 

The vision was clear. The challenge was building it.

 

At the time, Heather simply didn’t have the resources or technical ability to create an app on her own.

 

Then, life stepped in.

 

Years later, an opportunity to write content for a mobile app introduced Heather to the app development world and opened the door to understanding the technology side of the industry. That experience ultimately gave her the foundation she needed to finally bring her original vision to life.

 

Then Hurricane Ian hit in 2022.

 

Watching the devastation and communication struggles unfold across Florida reignited everything Heather had felt during Irma years earlier. She knew communities needed more than scattered Facebook groups, disconnected resources, and fragmented information. They needed one trusted place to stay connected before, during, and after disasters.

 

Soon after, Heather pivoted fully into the mission, established a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and officially launched Local Relief.

 

What began as an idea during Hurricane Irma became a growing movement focused on strengthening communities through connection, communication, and resilience.