When a crisis occurs in a housing community, the first questions leaders should ask are whether residents are safe and what they need right now.
The answer should guide the decisions that follow, from coordinating with responders to gathering facts and providing updates.
“The first hour is not primarily a communications exercise. It is a leadership test,” said Jeff Battcher, founder and principal of Battcher Communications and board chair of the Macon Housing Authority. Battcher has spent more than 30 years advising CEOs, executive teams, and boards through challenging moments and important opportunities.
The timeline below offers a way to organize the first hour. Many of these steps will occur simultaneously, and an organization’s response should always follow the needs of the people affected.
When a crisis occurs: Protect people
Determine whether residents or employees remain in danger. Confirm with staff that emergency services have been contacted, coordinate with responders, and support any necessary evacuation, shelter, or medical care.
At the same time, find out what affected residents need from the housing organization. Someone who cannot return home may need transportation or a place to stay. Others may need access to medication, mobility assistance, language support, or help reaching family members.
Those needs should guide the organization’s first conversations with residents. A general statement that leadership is “monitoring the situation” offers little help to someone trying to find out where to go or whether it is safe to return home. Residents need practical instructions and, when possible, direct human contact.
“As board chair of the Macon Housing Authority, I am always conscious that these are not simply properties or units. They are people's homes,” Battcher said. “A response that may look orderly on a checklist can still fail if residents feel ignored, uninformed, or treated as an afterthought.”
In the first 15 minutes: Bring the crisis team together
As the immediate safety response gets underway, bring together the people responsible for making decisions. The team should include a lead decision-maker, the property contact, the person gathering information from responders, and the designated spokesperson. In addition, a member of the organization's facilities or maintenance staff may need to be involved; in many housing emergencies, this person may be critical because of utilities, building access, keys, and other property-specific information first responders may need. Each role should have a backup if someone cannot be reached.
The team’s first task is to establish a shared understanding of the incident:
- What has been confirmed?
- What has been reported but remains unverified?
- Who is checking each unanswered question?
- Which decisions need to be made now?
- When will the team meet or check in again?
This shared record gives everyone a reliable starting point. It also helps prevent different departments from circulating conflicting information as calls, emails, and resident questions increase.
The property’s resident manager or another on-site contact may be one of the organization’s earliest sources of information. Leaders should also connect with the lead responding agency, identify a communications contact, and clarify which details each organization can provide. Responders may control information about injuries, hazards, the cause of an incident, or an investigation. The housing organization still needs to communicate about resident safety, relocation, property access, services, and support.
If information from the housing organization and a responding agency differs, reconcile it before issuing an update.
Housing leadership should also determine whether the incident triggers any required notifications to HUD, their insurance provider, law enforcement, or other government agencies.
Prepare before an incident: Read How to Communicate Through a Crisis, which includes a crisis communications checklist to help housing organizations establish roles, contacts, and communication procedures.
Within 30 minutes: Reach residents and acknowledge the incident
People directly affected should receive practical information as quickly as possible. Tell them what they need to do, where they can get help, whom they can contact, and when they can expect another update. Use direct contact when circumstances allow, along with the notification methods residents already use. A website or social post alone may not reach everyone who needs immediate instructions.
Once the organization can confirm that an incident occurred and communicate without compromising safety or responders' work, it should acknowledge the situation publicly. An initial holding statement can express concern and empathy, explain the immediate priority, and make clear that more information is being gathered.
For example:
"We are aware of an incident at one of our housing communities. Our immediate priority is the safety and well-being of our residents and staff. We are gathering additional information and working with the appropriate authorities. We will provide updates as more information becomes available."
That message does not need to answer every question. It should share what is known, describe what the organization is doing, and indicate when and where to expect the next update. Avoid unconfirmed numbers, speculation about the cause, identifying details about residents—especially personally identifiable information and resident privacy—and promises the organization may not be able to keep.
“Do not wait for a complete picture,” Battcher said. “Bad news does not get better with age, and neither does silence.”
Residents may already be seeing posts from witnesses or hearing reports from neighbors. Monitor those conversations to understand what information is circulating, and correct misinformation promptly if it creates a safety risk. Direct people to a single reliable source for official updates rather than responding to every online comment.
As the response expands: Give each group the information it needs
A crisis can generate questions from residents, employees, board members, community partners, reporters, and public officials simultaneously. The underlying facts should remain consistent, but each group needs information it can use.
Directly affected residents need instructions and support. Other residents may need to know whether their homes, services, or access to the property are affected. Employees need operating instructions and guidance for responding to resident questions. Board members need a concise briefing on leadership’s actions, major concerns, and upcoming decisions. Community partners need to know what assistance is needed and where to provide it.
“Audience-specific communication does not mean different versions of the truth. It means giving each group the information it needs to act,” Battcher said.
Employees and board members should also know who is authorized to speak publicly. Give them a short, usable response to inquiries: express concern, avoid speculation, and direct them to the designated spokesperson or official updates. Battcher advises against saying “no comment” when a person can instead explain that they have no confirmed information to add and point to the latest update.
For the public and media, provide confirmed facts, an accessible contact, and a time for the next update. If a detail remains unknown, say so. As new facts are verified, the organization can mark updates with a time so readers understand when the information was current. If an earlier statement turns out to be wrong, correct it plainly.
In a significant incident, elected officials and other community leaders may arrive or begin calling very quickly, Battcher added. He suggests designating someone to communicate with those outside stakeholders so the people managing the actual crisis can remain focused.
By the end of the first hour: Set the course for what comes next
The circumstances of every incident will differ. Ideally, by the end of the first hour, the housing organization has:
- Addressed immediate safety needs and started identifying what affected residents require.
- Activated its crisis team and assigned decision-making and communication roles.
- Separated confirmed facts from unanswered questions.
- Coordinated with responders about what each organization can communicate.
- Contacted affected residents with practical instructions.
- Briefed employees and board leadership.
- Issued an initial public statement and identified where updates will appear.
- Set a time for the next update.
Many questions may still be unresolved. The organization’s responsibility is to keep checking the facts, meeting residents’ needs, and communicating as the situation develops. Even if there is little new to report at the promised update time, leaders can say what remains under review and when people will hear from them again.
Battcher also encourages a housing organization’s CEO to meet directly with affected residents when circumstances allow, either during the response or as soon as possible afterward. That personal contact gives residents an opportunity to raise concerns and see that leadership remains engaged beyond public statements.
The first hour depends on preparation. Current contact lists should include direct and backup contacts for property staff, decision-makers, responders, and community partners, along with after-hours contact methods. Leaders should know who can approve a statement on a weekend or holiday, where the crisis team will meet, and how its members will connect remotely.
“In a crisis, people rally around the calmest person in the room,” Battcher said. “Calm is not passive or slow. It means clear priorities, honest facts, empathy, accountability, and the confidence to act before every question is answered.”
For additional resources, visit the HAI Group Crisis Communication Center.
