Tools to Strengthen Community ResiliencyHealth Promotion Summer School

June 24, 2008

Self-Help Resource Centrewww.selfhelp.on.ca

Ontario Healthy Communities Coalitionwww.ohcc-ccso.ca

Roya Rabbani Lorna Heidenheim

A presentation by

Tools to Strengthen Community ImmunityOBJECTIVES

• Introduce the concepts of community resiliency and its relationship to social capital;

• Identify factors contributing to community resiliency

• Relate skills and structures for self-help/peer support to building community resilience

• Emphasize skills and structures for community development to building community resilience

Agenda

1. What is community resiliency?

2. Components of community resiliency

3. Self Help and Mutual Aid Strategies

4. Community Capacity Building for Resiliency

5. Reflections

Learn from experience and build future capacity

Self-organize and regulate

Work together to build resiliency

Community Resiliency• Ability to bounce back after an adversity• Ability to learn from the negative experience

to respond more effectively in future• Ability to create balance between risk factors

and support/coping factors• Resiliency is a dynamic process

A resilient community

…is one that takes intentional action to embrace the personal and collective capacity of its citizens to respond to and influence the course of social and economic change.

The Community Resilience ManualCentre for Community Enterprise

The Four Dimensions of Community

PEOPLE

RESOURCES

ORGANIZATIONS

PROCESS

• Ability to self-organize

• Ability to work together

• Ability to do things

differently

• Ability to build

capacity

Joachim

34; New to Canada; waiting for family to join; takes ESL; Nostalgic for past; unsure about future, lives in high-rise building in suburb; uses services for some needs but in a disconnected way; with all his skills feels worthless.

Abby72; retired; lives alone with no immediate family close by; ex-smoker and is overweight; Loves to tango and chat; fluent in French; is warm and friendly; volunteers to socialize; has a constant phobia of dying alone; Despite her appeared cheerfulness, feels lonely and useless.

Pansy

51; factory worker; suffers form undiagnosed chronic pain; single parent; one of her children is autistic; gets help from various services, but feels completely alone; no one seems to understand what she faces.

They live in the same community identified as high risk, prone to crime, child poverty, unemployment, alienation, dilapidated dwellings, cultural and racial tension, etc…..

Building Capital, Building ResiliencyUsing mutual aid/self-help PROCESS to work with PEOPLE

“Social capital refers to those stocks of social trust, norms and networks that people can draw upon to solve common problems.”

How to develop trust?

What type of networks?

How to agree on norms?

Social capital refers to the norms and networks that enable collective action.

The Burning Question:What does Mutual Aid/Self-Help have to do with Social Capital?

MASH builds Network of

SupportPeople who share same experience and face the same difficulty, can become each others’ source of strength and support. Self-help groups are mechanism to create networks of support. Seeing your peers succeed in dealing with a difficulty in life, creates

a sense of efficacy. MASH enabling Collective ActionSelf-help groups give people a sense of connectedness and strength. By its very nature, group work, when based on capacity building and skills development, is enabling and leads to collective action, which in itself is empowering.

MASH works based on Norm of Reciprocity

Self-help strategies enable people to communicate norms and rules conducive to respect, mutuality and reciprocity. By sharing leadership and responsibilities, people creates norms and strategies to work collaboratively.

Community Mutual Aid/Self-Help GroupsWhat can they do to build community resiliency?

• Gather and unite people around the issues;• Provide opportunities to build capacity through shared

leadership;• Increase self-efficacy by opportunities for modeling, peer

mentoring and group work;• Motivate individual by giving them a communal

responsibility; • Connect people to each other, organize them around

issues and broaden their network

Self-Help Strategies: Key Elements

Self-Help Strategies

SupportiveCommunities

Experiential Knowledge

Shared Leadership

Gather people around same concern to create networks of support

Enable them to work cooperatively by sharing responsibility/leadership

Validate their knowledge of issue, concern, problem, etc.

Structures that support MASH

• Organization with clear commitment to people participation

• Policies and procedures to facilitate people participation

• Ability to work with diversity

• Willingness and ability to build peoples’ capacity

• Willingness and ability to have different service delivery model

Building Community Capacity

for Resiliency

Indicators of Community Resiliency

1. Diversified leadership2. Visionary leadership3. Community participation4. Community Pride5. Optimistic about Future6. Spirit of co-operation7. Sense of attachment8. Self-reliant9. Belief in education

10. Variety of NGO’s11. Partnerships

People

Process

Resources12. Diversified Employment13. Local Ownership14. Plan to increase LO15. Economic Diversification16. Seeks external resources17. Aware of competitive position

Organizations

18. Community Plan19. Participation in vision, goals20. On-going action21. Regular evaluation22. Actions guided by Plan23. Inclusive approach

Mapping Community Resiliency Assets

Distribution of ResourcesEquity, Equality, Access

• Changing Demographics• Power & Privilege• Access and Choice• Policy and Legislation• Embracing Diversity

Small to mid-sized, volunteer-based, not-for-profit community organizations, with lessons for larger organizations and institutions

What is the aim of the Tool Kit?

To assist organizations in becoming more aware of and responsive to the populations that they serve.

Who is the Tool Kit for?

For More InformationOntario Self-Help Network (OSHNET): Shared Leadership Handbook

www.selfhelp.on.ca

Ontario Healthy Communities Coalition: From the Ground Up, Inclusive Community Organizations www.ohcc-ccso.ca

The Community Resilience Manual: Centre for Community Enterprise

www.cedworks.com/communityresilience01.html