Resilience Hubs

Community-driven response to extreme weather events and other challenges facing environmental justice communities

Page Contents

What is a resilience hub?

History of Resilience Hubs

Resilience Hub Advantages

Additional Resources

What is a Resilience Hub?

A Resilience Hub is a local, community-driven facility that can support long-term community health and wellness. They address everyday needs such as social programming, food help, and legal resources. Resilience Hubs also act as a first point of contact in the aftermath of an extreme weather event such as a flood, storm, power outage, or heatwave. Federal government organizations like FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) or HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) can help affected communities through Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) to provide immediate resources to those suffering from a hazardous event. However, DRCs are often temporary and only provide help for a limited amount of time. DRCs need federal authorization to declare an emergency in an area before they can provide aid. By contrast, Resilience Hubs can mobilize people and other resources after the federal government has run out of funding because they add on to existing spaces. Resilience Hubs work on the trust built through everyday connections and relationships to provide a central meeting space for all. Think of places that you trust in your neighborhood or community: is it your barber shop? The mom and pop grocery store? Church? Or even a community center? These locations, run by people who live in your neighborhood, can become Resilience Hubs.

What is the history of Resilience Hubs?

In 2012, Kristin Baja and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network built one of the earliest examples of Resilience Hubs in Baltimore, MD. Kristin and her team noticed that Baltimore residents were less likely to accept government help to prepare for climate emergencies. Especially those living in vulnerable communities. This was due to a history of corruption within the local Baltimore government and community mistrust of social welfare programs. Also, climate emergencies were not the only issues on people’s minds in Baltimore: they worried about everyday needs like childcare, job support, and food assistance. Resilience Hubs offer an alternative to government assistance that people and organizations that communities trust can manage. They go beyond being a single point of contact during emergencies, but can become a place where people can get their basic needs met.

ADvantages of Resilience Hubs

The great thing about Resilience Hubs is that there is no “one size fits all.” Resilience Hubs can be whatever communities need them to be. Some, like those run by CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather), are flexible locations that serve as emergency shelters during extreme weather events. They display brochures about resources that community members might need throughout the year. Other Resilience Hubs, like those developed by the Resilient Mystic Collaborative, range from cooling centers to combat heatwaves to social programming like film screenings and tree plantings. The RMC engages people about the effects of climate change and hazardous weather events. Resilience Hubs can be as big and expansive or as small and focused as communities need them to be. Other factors that determine Resilience Hub size can be funding, available space, or the number of volunteers. They are not meant to be an extra strain on community resources, but rather work alongside them to prepare everyone for life’s everyday challenges.