Community Resilience in Times of Need
Why social health is an essential tool for your survival kit.
If you’re in North America, you’ve most likely heard about Hurricane Helene over the past week. The damage is still being assessed, but we already know that it’s “the second-deadliest hurricane to strike the US mainland in the past 50 years.” My heart goes out to everyone affected.
After any natural disaster, you will hear stories of human goodness. Human kindness. Human connection. Among the debris, there is decency.
Soon, we will hear stories emerge of the heroes of Hurricane Helene—the neighbors who banded together to help one another. And this, my friends, brings me to an essential tool in any survival kit: other people.
Let me explain.
I live in an area of California that is prone to severe wildfires, earthquakes, and droughts—which freaks me out enough that I enrolled in a local emergency preparedness course last year and updated my survival kit last month. Fear is a powerful motivator 😅
But perhaps the most important step I’ve taken wasn’t getting trained to use a fire extinguisher or stocking up on nonperishable foods. The most important step I’ve taken is getting to know my neighbors.
At least, that’s what the research suggests.
Numerous studies conducted in countries around the world have found that communities fare better during difficult times—including having fewer deaths—if their residents are connected. On one hand, this is intuitive; it’s easier to both get and give help if you already know and trust someone. On the other hand, the extent to which relationships contribute to resilience surprises even me.
I summarized the research in an article for the American Society on Aging in 2022. Here, I’m sharing it along with a couple other resources for you to learn more:
1. Article for the American Society on Aging.
“Lessons from COVID-19: Improving Social Health to Build Community Resilience” goes into detail on what the data says and offers practical takeaways for policymakers, city officials, community-based organizations, and individual citizens (that’s you!).
2. New! Interview on Nextdoor.
I sat down with the Nextdoor team recently to discuss social health and why neighborliness is such an asset. Watch to the end for a fun book club idea 😉
3. Letter-to-the-editor in The New York Times.
I wrote “For the Elderly, Lonely Deaths in a Hurricane,” in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian back in 2022. It seems hurricanes aren’t stopping anytime soon, but I sure wish lonely deaths would. Read it to see what I mean.
No matter where you live, I invite you to reflect on your own situation: Are you prepared for a natural disaster if one were to hit your community?
In addition to the more obvious supplies in your survival kit, make sure you include your neighbors’ names and contact info. If you don’t know them, now’s a great time to change that! For instance, I’ve dropped off cards in people’s mailboxes, organized a potluck block party, and made a point of smiling, waving, and chatting. Check out California’s new Neighbor-to-Neighbor initiative and Social Health Labs’ grantees for more inspiration.
Because of how powerful relationships are for resilience, in The Art and Science of Connection, I urge us all to proactively invest in social health—building it up as a strength and resource. Proactively investing in social health can be thought of as a prevention strategy, buffering against not only the internal experience of loneliness but also external threats in our environment.
Plain and simple: we need each other to survive and thrive.
In other news…
I was recently interviewed for the Harvard Public Health Magazine! If you enjoy our brief conversation below and want to explore these themes further, check out my book, past articles, and recent podcast interviews.
Also, make sure to keep an eye on your inbox early next week for a special live Ask-Me-Anything opportunity, plus other exciting announcements 😉
