Community resilience.
What is community resilience?
Community resilience is a community’s capacity to absorb disturbance and change itself so that it can continue to grow and flourish. Resilient communities are better able to help themselves during a crisis and ‘bounce back’ afterwards. It can be thought of as comprising of several different spheres or aspects which overlap each other. These are the built (ie infrastructure) natural social and economic environments which exist in any given community.
Why do we need community resilience?
The severity of a disaster is determined by both the scale of the disaster and the level of community preparedness. Australia is vulnerable to a variety of shocks and natural disasters. Community resilience is critical in minimising the effect of these disasters and contributes to a quicker more effective response.
How do we build community resilience?
There is no hard and fast rule how to build community resilience however it is best strengthened continuously not just in times of crisis. It involves people getting together to create sustainable links within their community.
How do I know if my community is resilient?
The level of interconnectedness between members of a community is a key component and indicator of the level of community resilience. For example do you know your neighbours? Are you actively involved in your local community? Do you know what to do before during and after a natural disaster?
http://www.emergencyvolunteering.com.au/community-resilience.shtml