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The Humanitarian Disaster Institute is an academic center of Wheaton College and the first faith-based academic disaster research center in the United States. The Institute's mission is help churches "prepare and care for a disaster-filled world"....by conducting research that creates evidence-based practice-informed resources and events designed to equip both individual students, survivors, helpers, and researchers, and churches and NGO disaster relief organizations, respond more effectively to humanitarian disasters.

The Humanitarian Disaster Institute was founded by Jamie Aten (Ph.D., Indiana State University) who serves as its Executive Director. He also holds the Blanchard Chair of Humanitarian & Disaster Leadership at Wheaton College.

The Institute identifies its distinguishing focus as "advancing the psychology of religion/spirituality (RS) and disaster research, which is the scientific study of how people believe, think, behave, feel, and relate in disaster situations. A growing body of scientific evidence has shown that people turn to faith amidst disasters and that doing so fosters resilience. Surprisingly, the relationship between faith and disaster resilience is under-studied. But even less is known about cultivating faith and virtues intentionally to help people endure and recover from disasters [and] setting out to change this."

The Institute offers an M.A. in Humanitarian & Disaster Leadership (HDL) at Wheaton College "to prepare the next generation of humanitarian and disaster professionals to lead with faith and humility, utilize evidence-based practice, and serve the most vulnerable and the Church globally."

In recognition of the critical role of trauma-informed care in caring for both the victims and responders to humanitarian disasters, the Institute is partnering with with the School of Psychology, Counseling, and Family Therapy at Wheaton College Graduate School to offer a new Trauma Certificate in a specialized track specifically tailored to humanitarian and disaster responders starting in the fall semester of academic year 2020-2021.