Degree Name
MA in Conflict Transformation
First Advisor
Dr. Paula Green
Abstract
Disaster management and humanitarian aid organizations have had to reevaluate how communities and individuals can better adapt and prepare for future disaster events. One concept organizations are incorporating into their overall framework is strengthening community resilience. Increasing a community’s resilience level increases its ability to cope with the changes that affect it. Creating awareness of the vulnerabilities in an area, addressing these vulnerabilities with preparedness training, disaster risk reduction (DRR), and sustainable changes made over the long-term can develop a community’s adaptive capacity to be more resilient.
For my practicum, I was given the opportunity to be the International Services Department Lead for the New Hampshire American Red Cross International Services Department. One of my main responsibilities was to develop the department to meet the disaster and emergency needs of the local intercultural community. It was through this role that I learned the importance of community preparedness and resilience. This capstone explores the influencing factors of climate change, disaster management, and social vulnerabilities on community resilience. These factors will serve as contextual information to better understand the importance and need for an International Services Department in New Hampshire. Resiliency Theory will be the lens used to describe how communities can adapt best to the influencing factors that affect their livelihood.
Key Words: Resilience, disaster management, preparedness education, emergency services, international services, climate change, social vulnerability, American Red Cross, IFRC.
Disciplines
Civic and Community Engagement | Community-Based Learning | Emergency and Disaster Management | Human Geography | Inequality and Stratification | International and Intercultural Communication | Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility | Multicultural Psychology | Nonprofit Administration and Management | Organizational Behavior and Theory | Organization Development | Physical and Environmental Geography | Training and Development
Recommended Citation
Romac, Sarah, "The Importance of Community Resilience: Developing the American Red Cross International Services Department in the New Hampshire Region" (2014). Capstone Collection. 2735.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/capstones/2735
Included in
Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Community-Based Learning Commons, Emergency and Disaster Management Commons, Human Geography Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, International and Intercultural Communication Commons, Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Commons, Multicultural Psychology Commons, Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, Organization Development Commons, Physical and Environmental Geography Commons, Training and Development Commons