Common Language for Understanding Resilience in Buncombe County
Definition of Resilience for Creating a Common Language in Our Community:
Resilience: noun \ri-ˈzil-yən(t)s\
Think of resilience as a positive outcome despite there being negative weight stacked on our ‘scale’ (see the metaphor of the ‘resilience scale’ below). Resilience can also be described as a person’s ability to bounce back, to be strong, healthy or successful again after something stressful or bad happens, or our ability to be creative or resourceful no matter what is going on around us.
What We Are Up To In Buncombe County:
Buncombe County is coming together to make good things happen. One of things we are doing is investing our resources in developing a self-sustaining resilient community and recognizing the potential that people inherently have. Even though individuals may be living in adverse conditions or situations, we would like for our community members to know that there are many resources in this community that can help children and families thrive.
Developing the resources, services and knowledge of our community providers, to provide education on adverse childhood experiences, trauma informed practices and community resiliency is our priority. We would like to provide support and education through bringing forward all of the available resources in the community, for families to choose what services best suit the needs of their family to thrive. This can be described as the ‘resource grid’ of services available to families. Together, we — all of Buncombe County’s residents and leaders — can invest resources in strengthening the systems that provide social services that support family’s needs so that individuals can make informed decisions about the future- including health, wealth and well-being.
If we fail to make this investment, our children will continue to have high ACE scores and lack the ability face adverse experiences and develop resiliency. Making investments in people by assuring that all residents are given their best chance in life is the best way to build strong and fully contributing resilient communities. If we assure our people are connected to the appropriate places, information and resources, we will help ensure our community’s potential. A generational investment that focuses on specific outcomes for families to break the cycles of adversity and secure the assistance and resources they need will help our community thrive.
Use Language that Appeals to the Value of: Ingenuity
· It’s in our culture to find innovative solutions to challenging problems – we have a history of rolling up our sleeves and getting to work on tough issues. An innovation doesn’t have to mean inventing from scratch – it also includes finding ideas that work, borrowing them, implementing them thoughtfully. Buncombe County has a history of embracing new practices and initiatives to develop resiliency in the community
· We are resourceful, clever, and thoughtful. We have what it takes to build a resilient community –we can anticipate risk and limit impact of traumatic disruptions or disasters in our community
· Some examples of our community’s ingenuity:
o The development of the Family Justice Center
o Implementation of the Compassionate School Initiative
o The Positive Parenting Program
o Collaborative Teams that tackle Complex Challenges, such as the ACE Learning Collaborative and the Buncombe County Children’s Collaborative
· Ingenuity can make a difference on those long-standing problems that seem ‘stuck’
Use Language that Appeals to the Value of: Pragmatism
· It is sensible to use the structures and services that we already have in place. We have a huge network of services and with some hard work, we can get these services working together to build resilience
· When we develop community connections and capacity, it enables our residents to have control over their outcomes
· Working through community-led, funder-supported partnerships allows for accountability and responsibility held by community members, which allows for strategies and resources that are generated in partnership with Buncombe County agencies
· Think about employing a strategic place-and-people-based approach to community resiliency. People with social and human capital-or those who are connected to resources- will help one another solve problems
WHAT CAN BE DONE? When working in the community, start conversations that:
Use the Metaphor of the ‘Resilience Scale’
In the same way that the weight sitting on a scale or teeter-totter affects the direction it tips, the factors that individuals are exposed to affect the outcomes of their development. An individual’s scale is placed in a community and has spaces on either side where environmental factors get placed. These factors influence which direction the scale tips and the outcomes of the person’s development.
Positive factors, such as supportive relationships, get stacked on one side, while risk factors, such as abuse or violence, pile up on the other. It’s important to realize that not all of these factors are the same weight. Resilience happens when the scale tips positive even though it’s stacked with negative weight. This happens when communities counterbalance the scale by stacking protective factors like supportive relationships and opportunities to develop skills for coping and adapting.
There’s another part of the scale called the fulcrum or hinge, which is also important in how the scale tips. Different scales have different places where this fulcrum starts, just as children have different genetic starting points, and the position of this fulcrum influences how much positive weight it takes to tip the scale toward positive outcomes and how much negative weight it takes to send the scale tipping down toward negative outcomes. We also know that the fulcrum is not fixed — a child’s experiences can cause the fulcrum to move in either direction, affecting how the scale works and what it takes to tip it either way. What’s key is that there are certain periods during development where the fulcrum is especially shift-able. During these times, it’s critical that individuals have positive experiences so their fulcrums can shift in a direction that will make them more able to bear negative experiences later on in life.
Use the Metaphor of the ‘Resource Grid’
Access to resources that support well-being functions much like a power grid- but it’s patchy and uneven in some areas, so we need to expand and repair it. Access to resources that support our well-being are essential for us to function. Just like a power grid delivers energy, a resource grid powers our resilience. By plugging into the grid, we are assured resources are available and accessible in order to support us to be our best. We have to monitor the resource grid to assure the flow of resources is available to everyone. Collaborative efforts in our community, such as the ACE Collaborative, and many others, bring together advocates and practitioners from across sectors and disciplines together with community residents to discuss community problems and potential solutions. Our initiatives emphasize building community resilience with community members, believing that an individual’s network, including social connections and relationships, is an important asset that facilitates greater community and access to information and resources.
Use the Comparison of Public Structures
· Resiliency happens when we have adequate public structures in place that help prevent harm, like our roads or highways systems
· The concept of resilience must be cared for over time, it’s a big investment but it will take us where we need to go
· The strength, stability and availability of our public structures make our overall quality of life possible
· Public structures are the infrastructures that are the foundation of our community