White River Resilience Hubs

 

Resilience comes from the social cohesion that forms when people organize in response to real needs.  Hubs in the White River watershed may well look like town-by-town physical community centers where, though collaboration, we can provide “a space where people can take more pride in their neighborhood, learn new skills together, provide for basic needs, prepare for disruptions, and build a more inclusive and joyful community.” Likely, they will look different in each town and take into account the existing resources and infrastructure that is already there.

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This major initiative, a BALE collaboration with the statewide group, Community Resilience Organizations (CROs), seeks to tie together the many needs for hubs of community resilience together. This concept is inspired by organization, Shareable, and their toolkit “The Resilience We Want: A guide to making your community space into a hub for local resilience and mutual aid.”

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The initial groundwork in 2020 includes a public launch that invites local communities to identify existing “hub” resources and envisions more comprehensive, interconnected space(s) that can increase community connection and local resilience. Focusing on one town/community at a time, each hub can emerge, reflective of the particular needs and interests of that community. The resources that BALE and CROs offers are extensive participation at every level, with staff support, potential funding research and assistance, and guided workshop and design sessions. For 2020, we envision groundwork on one-to-four such place-based projects underway.