What is Neighborhood Resilience?

Neighborhood resilience is built one person and one family at a time. Before long, an entire block may benefit.

Here are some ideas:
Share a garden space anywhere you can find one. Share knowledge, labor, cost (including a tool sharing agreement), produce and seeds.
Create a kitchen tool sharing plan for larger items that are only used a few times a year. Examples include food dehydrators, canning equipment, sealing equipment, commercial grade mixing bowls and pans.
Plant themed flower or herb gardens on the entire block. It shows neighborhood pride.
Exchange gently used toys or children's clothing to save money.
Hold a neighborhood jobs club.
Have a neighborhood clothes and accessory sharing clothes closet to help job seekers land the perfect job.
Trade services such as cleaning gutters in exchange for sewing alterations. Build the neighbor a fence, or chicken coop in exchange for work on your car.
Consider a monthly book club, book exchange, or book sale.
Teach a variety of skills at a neighborhood craft fair.
Teach basic home or auto repair classes to your neighbors.
Start a neighborhood choir.
Host neighborhood celebrations.

What Drives Our Interests?

What is your ministry curricula based on? Yesterday a public servant asked that question. My answer is that research informs our practice, but does not define it. So what exactly does that mean? Just to clarify, some of our work is just plain individuallly tailored problem solving. Workshops or training does involve curricula design and we tailor these services to meet the organizations needs.

Barna Research Group identifies four things churches consistently do poorly on. That provided a good foundation.

We read and draw on diverse research, lessons learned and life experience. Then we listen, observe and assemble information about resources learned through extensive networking to benefit those we serve.

A few sources used individually and corporately include:

• Pertinent research in Christianity Today. There are many articles on disaster, business continuity and risk management.
• Risk management recommendations from insurance companies.
• ABC's of Church Management.
• Read several disaster plans ranging from national denominational plans, to college and university plans to county and city plans.  
• Personal interviews with emergency management professionals and faith-based leaders in the field.
• Observation and volunteer work in disaster warehouse.
• Exposure to the emergency management field while working in a limited duration position for the City.
• Volunteer experience with American Red Cross
• Over 200 years of combined experience with the faith community, and exposure to several faith traditions and cultures.
• Work on a plan for a District office that supports fifty churches.
• Help with strategies to reverse a negative financial trend, improve evaluation processes, raise organizational visibility, leverage donations, negotiate a nonprofit discount, overcome employee resistence, obtain answers to tax questions, identify alternatives to high bank fees and more.
• Extensive post-masters education and a dozen Red Cross classes and about eighty FEMA and FEMA consortium courses.
• On-line courses through Columbia University graduate public health education.  
• We also read alternative materials such as serious gardening magazines, peruse websites, read up on how to live off the grid, not because we are survivalists, but because there are practical lessons that can be applied to what we do.

 

When disasters happen, we review news accounts, follow websites, listen to credible sources on the ground and capture lessons learned. Any thing related to disaster preparedness involves continuous evaluation and improvement.

 

What drives our interest?

First our primary interest in NOT in disasters, it is resilience and helping organizations improve their capacity to serve in good times, but also during adverse conditions. Our family was deeply affected by three tragic work-related disasters. We've also been impacted by other critical life events and learned from others' experiences. One of the lessons we've learned is that a person cannot always control what happens in life, but they can add resilience. Resilience is a protective factor against the effects of disaster, but it is also protective in other ways. Our prayer is that no person should suffer needlessly. Resillient employees recover more quickly and completely.

 

What does that look like at the organizational level?

Disasters don't have to be big to be devastating. Policies and procedures, having adequate safety plans in place, and building a resilient workforce help prevent disasters or or reduce the impact. Risk management and succession plans help organizations act responsibly and improve their capacity to serve under adverse conditions. There are several blog posts on what small businesses, churches and other nonprofits can do to improve employee resilience, improve the entity's sustainabilty and empower vulnerable residents.

To learn more about what we do, look under our "Services" tab. Read our story under the "About Us" tab.

Urban Solutions: Ministry, Math and Melissa Data

The last post was on Urban Solutions: Creating Strategic Ministry Partnerships. If you have read our mission and vision statement, you already understand that our focus is on helping small businesses, churches and other nonprofits improve their capacity to serve others. Our premise is that employees and members must improve their own resilience in order to improve sustainability. We cannot afford to operate in isolation. Instead we need to transition to a model of healthy interdependence.

So let’s breathe some life into this by understanding the big picture. Once church leadership teams help their members understand how to implement this simple concept in their neighborhood, the steps are repeatable. Try to imagine this. Oregon has 36 counties, 471 zip codes and 1,349 profiles on populated areas. In the City of Portland alone there are over 1,200 Christian churches. By building on the work of the US Postal Service, internet maps and databases, coordination and measuring outcomes at the neighborhood is both realistic and necessary. Here is an example of what how to bring this idea down to the neighborhood level.

First, figure out which of neighborhoods are in your zip code. Then find a map of the neighborhood and identify your location on the neighborhood map. The last step is to dentify several homes and make a commitment to develop some level of relationship with someone in each household. Since that represents such a diverse area, divide the neighborhood into ten sections with the goal of developing a relationship with at least one person in each of the ten sections. If this seems like a daunting task, enlist the help of ministry partners by using entering "nonprofit organization lookup". Melissa Data allows users to enter a zip code to identify all nonprofits within that zip code. This allows church leadership teams to build strategic partnerships closest to them and build out thir resource list in concentric circles.

Earthquake or Health Crisis?

Three day ktis are old news. New recommendations vary. In recent disasters help was weeks away for some. Common sense goes a long way.

If your small business or organization closed the doors who would be affected? For how long? How long can your entity tolerate a payroll distruption? How long can vendors carry you without payment? Preparedness is not an event. It is a continuous process which requires evaluation and improvement.  The chances of a major earthquake in our region is high, but will it happen next week or in ten years? Rather than rolling the dice, consider the benefits of preparedness. Think of preparedness like low cost insurance against a structural fire, decline in business, lay offs. Now extend this to a personal level. Most entities have had co-workers or volunteers who have experienced a personal crisis. In a healthy workplace colleages rally around the affected person and offer support and resources. Resilient employees and volunteers are like leaven which rises and permeates the small business or organizational environment. If something adverse happened today, would your entity bounce or thunk? If cash is tight, focus on things that are free or very low cost, but don't delay. Take a look at our Resource page for more information.

Investing in Long Term Resilience Builds Sustainability

Human resource departments contribute to the health and welfare of employees and their families. Management may not fully understand the benefits of creating a culture of caring characterized by building long term resilience. Resilience is inherently linked to sustainability. A common example of an on-site enrichment program is a community garden. Other creative options may include an on-site bike shop with mechanic tools and support, preparing and eating family style meals together and providing health, fitness and nutrition information, food preservation classes, employee designed rain catchment systems and innovative environmental solutions. It does not require great expense to have employee’s s dehydrate healthy snacks to share at work, exchange ideas and give demonstrations that benefit the group. Many people have talents from which to draw and would happy to share information.

Smaller entities may focus on a single aspect of resilience.  Examples include but are not limited to preparing a supply of care packages for special needs, planting a couple fruit trees, a small vineyard and managing a few bee hives, growing a small salad gardening and use of red worm composting bins or even planting a small herb garden, sharing recipes,  and harvesting seeds to share.  Larger entities may use a team approach to helping employees and the community with improvement projects outside of work such as specialized teams to help others recover from adverse situations by checking on their welfare, acting as a care coordinator to schedule needed resources, or bringing a volunteer work crew to offer help. Many large entities have logistics departments or vendor networks that could become a valuable resource especially during adverse conditions. Resilient employees and members are more apt to come to work and focus on their job if they know with certainty their families are able to take care of themselves and that others stand ready to help them in times of need.  Savvy, innovative management teams take the initiative to build a sense of community in the workplace that extends beyond a mere job description. Enrichment opportunities that build resilience are only limited by flexible management and the creativity and interests of the planning team. Employees are the backbone of any business, or non-profit. Sustainability is tested during adverse or unforeseen circumstances. The ability to roll out plans to meet constantly changing conditions requires practice, mental creativity, and efficient team work. A resilient workforce is able to work better under pressure.

Columbia Springs-Rain Barrels

English Estate Winery

Disaster Awareness Series

Disaster Awareness Series

Resilient Churches: Does Your Church Have a Disaster Plan?
If so, what is your communication plan. Depending on the type of disaster cell phones may not work. Name two work around plans that will allow communication to continue without interruption.
Is there an evacuation plan? Have members practiced the plan? Was the plan developed with other community partners? What type of supplies will our organization provided and what must members provide?

Business Continuity Planning for Leadership Teams
Does your church back up vital document and payroll records. Do you have a team that can restore data if a technology failure occurs? How long can employees or vendors go without getting paid? What work around plans are there to assure employees get paid on time? Do your vendors have business continuity plans to prevent a disruption in supplies?

Ministry Opportunities in Disaster Response
One of the most exciting aspects is for faith-based groups and nongovernmental organizations to come to bring resources to the table, coordinate efforts and eliminate duplication of services. Public-private relationships are also a part of disaster response. Learn how mechanisms work and how to fit into national, state and local plans.

Encouraging Church Resilience

 Encouraging church resilience is a six part workshop series. Each workshop can stand alone, be delivered in a six week series or a full day workshop.

Ten Ways to Bolster Church Finances
Many churches are struggling to pay bills or expand ministry. In this workshop attendees will learn four practical steps to improve finances. In addition, break out groups will address specific skills to boost church revenues.

Opting In: How to Create a Culture of Service
Research says that a few members carry the work load. This can lead to burnout. This sub-topic addresses how churches track and improve participation?

Public Information Officers in the Church-What’s Next?
Is your church invisible? If it closed its doors would anyone notice it was gone? Public information officers can play a unique role in improving visibility. Listen to some astonishing principles the church can apply to revitalize ministries.

Hamming It Up: The Role of Amateur Radio Teams
Communications are a essential to resilience and sustainablity. Redundant communications help the faith community serve each other and others expecially during times of adversity. Amateur radio has applications for missions, building community partnerships, and maintaining resilience and serving others during adverse conditions. 

Safeguarding Our Most Precious Resource: How Safe Is Your Child Safety Plan?
The world has changed and child safety has become a major concern in churches. Failure to address child safety may lead to harm, criticism and legal consequences. Churches also need policies and procedures that outline how to safety Reunite  children who have been separated from parents or caregivers following a critical incident.

Nurturing Church Workers
Research indicates new church workers are not adequately supported emotionally or vocationally. Expections lack clarity. Without a fair appraisal process, imrovements are not made causing small problems become big problems. Learn how to implement processes that help develop new resources perform well, mature and in turn develop others.