Sustaining and strengthening community resilience throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

Jane South writes about the community response to the COVID-19 emergency in the UK and how public health has a role in strengthening community resilience through the recovery.

Why it matters

Jane South writes about the community response to the COVID-19 emergency in the UK and how public health has a role in strengthening community resilience through the recovery. This article reflects on the huge community response as part of the pandemic and draws on PHE and WHO Europe guidance on communities to discuss how this could be applied in public health practice as we move into recovery.

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Perspectives in Public Health, August 2020

What we do

We partner with city officials to establish local risk assessments and design action plans and programmatic responses. From de-radicalisation programming to youth engagement strategies, we ensure that local responses address local needs.

Working from the ground up, we establish local coordination bodies that unite city halls, civil society educators, public health bodies, the private sector and faith leaders to identify and address community tensions. We base our success on harnessing existing and credible institutions, from social services to traditional civic infrastructure.

We galvanise mayors, city officials, local services, communities and youth, training them to play active roles in diagnosing and responding to local risk factors, creating an international repository of best practice approaches.

We help members access the latest research and best practice from across the network through our SCN Online Hub, which features stories, interviews, guides and training modules for teachers, city officials and civil society. Our SCN Hate and Extremism Mapper provides members with data, building digital observatories that correlate online risks with offline behaviour.

We act as a bridge, creating stronger working relationships between local and national governments. We also provide civil society with the knowledge, skills and resources to foster meaningful partnerships with officials in city halls.