Holistic community partnerships present an opportunity to strengthen the overall resilience of a community and improve public health. Multisector investment in community resilience across neighborhoods will reimagine how neighborhoods should function day to day, but especially during an event or crisis. Accordingly, multisector resilience strategies can build and strengthen community readiness. These strategies must be cognizant of incorporating existing resilience and community networks that are valuable assets to improving resilience.
After reviewing lessons learned from the uprising during the Freddie Gray protest and the aftermath of some extreme east coast weather events, like Hurricane Sandy; Baltimore City government started an initiative to develop ‘Resiliency Hubs’. These hubs would partner with government agencies and other local stakeholders to collect and distribute real-time information needed to make decisions, serve as a staging place for first responders, and serve as an emergency center for residents providing food, water, and shelter, among other things.
These hubs would not just be active during emergencies, but they would have the ongoing responsibility of helping communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from harmful man-made and natural events. Resilient communities are prepared communities. (Learn more about Baltimore’s Resiliency Hubs)