Community Digest » Resilience Leader in the BoCo Strong Community Resilience and Capacity Building Initiative.

Resilience Leader in the BoCo Strong Community Resilience and Capacity Building Initiative.

Posted on: December 2nd, 2015

Greetings residents of unincorporated Boulder County,

Are you interested in helping to enhance the resilience and well-being of your neighborhood/canyon?

Are you interested in sharpening your skills to help identify and implement a community improvement project?

 If you answered yes, then you should apply to be a Resilience Leader in the BoCo Strong Community Resilience and Capacity Building Initiative.

What:

This is a pilot project in five communities (Jamestown, Lyons, Boulder, Longmont, and unincorporated Boulder County)

consisting of 2-4 residents (Resilience Leaders) from each area who will develop their leadership skills and take action to

promote the resilience and well-being of their neighborhood or community. Each neighborhood or community will have a

representative from their local government join them to form a Resilience Leadership Team. These teams will be supported

in leading and engaging their communities in identifying, prioritizing and implementing projects that increase their  community’s well-being.

Resilience Leaders will gain skills and knowledge in: community organizing and facilitation, identifying and connecting with

resources, understanding risk and how it relates to your community, assessing and prioritizing neighborhood/community

needs, identifying community stressors, understanding the interdependency of the elements within your community, social

media tools, project implementation, and built relationships with other leaders across the county.

When:

Resilience Leaders will be asked to make a one-year commitment beginning with a kick-off meeting in January and ending

in December of 2016. We anticipate an average of 2-3 hours of work per week throughout the year including community

engagement efforts, workshops, and monthly meetings.

Why:

A key learning in Boulder County from the economic downturn in 2008, the 2010 Fourmile Fire, and the 2013 Flood was

that neighborhoods, communities and businesses with connected people and connections to nonprofits and local

government responded more effectively and recovered faster. By building resilience as individuals, neighborhoods, and

communities we are better able to take care of our neighbors, ourselves, and create a healthy community.

How to Apply:

Send an email to me explaining why you want to participate and that you have the time to commit for the entire year (a paragraph will suffice). The deadline to apply is December 15. Please know that we understand people are busy so we don’t expect anyone to attend every single meeting. That’s why we are hoping to have 2-4 folks from each area so they can share the work. Feel free to encourage your friends or neighbors to join you in applying!

Attached are four documents that provide more details about the program. Don’t hesitate to contact me at 720-564-2642 or gsanfacon@nullbouldercounty.org if you have questions or thoughts or know someone who should be invited to participate. This is an exciting opportunity to work together to enhance the resilience and well-being of our communities.

Best regards,

Garry

Garry Sanfaçon | Flood Recovery Manager

Boulder County | Board of County Commissioners

Office: 720.564.2642 | Cell: 720.315.5371

2_Capacity_Resilience_Program (3).pdf

Resilience Leader:

Role & Expectations

Resilience Leaders and Leadership Teams:

Resilience Leaders will serve as a leader and a liaison for the local community they reside in. Each neighborhood or commu- nity will have 1-3 Resilience Leaders plus a representative from their local government to form a Resilience Leadership Team. These teams will be supported in leading and engaging their communities in identifying, prioritizing and implementing projects that increase their community’s well being.

Program Structure:

Laura Seraydarian, the BoCo Strong Resilience and Capacity Building Coordinator, will use a community resilience framework to facilitate the program by providing trainings and activities to assist these leaders. The specific trainings and program design will be tailored to each of the five leadership teams based on the community’s needs they identify at the beginning of the year. Laura will provide technical assistance to the Resilience Leadership Teams in each community throughout the year. Activities will be centered around 3 areas: 1) leadership development around community resilience, 2) assisting communities to prioritize key areas of need, and 3) implementing project(s) in those areas.

What Will Resilience Leaders Gain?

Resilience Leaders will gain skills and knowledge in: community organizing and facilitation, identifying and connecting with resources, understanding risk and how it relates to your community, assessing and prioritizing neighborhood/community needs, identifying community stressors, understanding the interdependency of the elements within your community, social media tools, project implementation, and built relationships with other leaders across the county.

Expectation of Resilience Leaders:

Resilience Leaders will be asked to make a one-year commitment beginning with a kick-off meeting in January and ending in December of 2016. We anticipate an average of 2-3 hours of work per week throughout the year including community engagement efforts, workshops, and monthly meetings.

• Capacity Building Workshops: There will be a series of 3 workshops (3 hrs. each) to support training and provide skills in leadership development, identifying and prioritizing community needs, and project implementation. There will be a preliminary series of workshop topics (such as community organizing and facilitation) presented at the kick-off meeting.

• Resilience Leadership Team Meetings: All of the resilience leadership teams will meet together once per month for 2 hours (except for months when workshops are scheduled). These meetings will be used to share information and to provide the leadership teams with tools (such as mapping community assets) to utilize in their communities. These meetings will be scheduled based on the needs of the leadership groups and may occur in the evenings or on weekends depending on what is requested.

• Community Specific Engagement: (~6 hrs./month) Resilience Leaders will be encouraged to utilize the tools and techniques provided at the monthly meetings engaging their neighborhoods, and return the following month with feedback and information to share. The ~6 hours per month may be spent meeting with their respective resilience leadership team for planning purposes, coordinating with existing community events/or creating new events to implement the tool, and tool implementation. Laura, along with your government representative, will be available to connect you to resources and provide any support that you may need.

• BoCo Strong Quarterly Meetings: (3 hrs.) The BoCo Strong quarterly meetings provide an opportunity to make connections and build relationships with the county’s Resilience Network (non-profits, government, businesses, and

individuals working on resilience). These meetings provide a venue to exchange ideas, to receive training, and to showcase projects. For example, our next meeting includes a training on inclusivity and time allotted for networking.

• Project Implementation: Laura will support leadership teams to guide the implementation of specific projects based on community identified needs and prioritization, including identifying and applying for additional funding.

• Overall Time Expectation: Most months will include a total of 9-12 hours of work split between the monthly leadership team meeting or capacity building workshop, engaging with your community, and planning with your team. The BoCo Strong quarterly meetings are tentatively scheduled to occur in January, April, July, and October and will add an additional 3 hours that month. Below is a sample timeline to provide a guideline for how your time will generally be spent; these hours are flexible. Please mark your calendars for the two meetings in January that have already been set.

Sample Timeline (subject to change):

The role of BoCo Strong is to assist community leaders to build a program that best serves their community. Laura will be available outside of these meetings/workshops to provide ongoing assistance to the Resilience Leadership Teams in each community. This project is the first phase of many that aim to increase neighborhood resilience across Boulder County. BoCo Strong is excited to assist in building upon the existing leadership and capacity that is already present in your community.

Local Community Resilience Examples

Below are some local examples of community resilience projects. The first example is described in more detail to clearly show the action steps they did to reach their goals.

Town of Lyons Stressor: The 2013 floods divided the town into several isolated islands stranding residents and worsening communication issues.

• Community Response: Residents banded together to strengthen their ability to communicate during and be prepared for a disaster.

• Community Resilience Action Steps: Lyons Prepared, a volunteer community group, was formed to work with residents within the town of Lyons and surrounding area. Lyons Prepared began by connecting with existing organizations/government entities and meeting monthly. Over the course of one year they:

o Defined their neighborhood boundaries, created a basic website, and found points of contacts for 60% of their neighborhoods.
o Created and conducted an initial survey to gather information from residents about communications during emergency events.

o Held a ‘pilot’ neighborhood community meeting to introduce points of contact and neighborhood coordinators.
Their future plans include formalizing coordinator and point-of-contact roles, purchasing ham radios, running exercises and evaluating results, and filling gaps in neighborhoods not already covered.

City of Lafayette Stressor: Inability to afford fresh produce

• Community Response: Community members recognized the need for affordable, healthy food and partnered with the Alicia Sanchez International School, Boulder Valley School District, the City of Lafayette, and Growing Gardens to build a community garden.

• Community Resilience Action Steps: The garden is managed by parents of students at the school with help from Sister Carmen Community Center. Families commit to weeding and watering one plot throughout the growing season, working a minimum of 1 hour per week. The garden is currently supported by donations, sponsors and grants and is irrigated with water provided by the city. The garden consists of 10 plots with one or two vegetables per plot and feeds 20 families.

Mountain Communities’ Stressor: Lack of viable communications during the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire.

• Community Response: Residents collaborated with Boulder County Amateur Radio Emergency Services (BCARES) to fill the communication gap by training to be HAM radio operators.

• Community Resilience Action Steps: The Mountain Emergency Radio Network (MERN) was created in conjunction with BCARES, the Inter-Mountain Alliance (IMA), and Boulder County’s Office of Emergency Management. A review was conducted after the fire to assess overall response, identify weaknesses and determine next steps. The initial objectives are to:

o Increase radio coverage by installing radio repeater infrastructure.
o Train and organize residents to operate and communicate with HAM radios.

Resident created and led radio clubs now exist in Nederland, Gold Hill and Allenspark. Currently there are more than 60 FCC licensed HAM operators in the mountains west of Boulder. More trainings will be held to continue expanding the network.

City of Longmont Stressor: Growing gang activity
• Community Response: Community members engaged with a grassroots non-profit and local community advocate, El

Comité de Longmont, to assist in providing “preventative proactive safety for the entire community”1.

• Community Resilience Action Steps: A community collaborative, the Gang Response and Intervention Program (GRIP), was created as “an inter-agency and community collaboration committed to creating and maintaining resources with a structure of support and acceptance”2. The collaborative is made up of non-profits, the City of Longmont, the school district, police department and courts/probation. GRIP works with families, youth, and the school system to create positive youth opportunities that deter gang involvement.

1 2 http://www.longmontcolorado.gov/departments/departments-a-d/children-youth-and-families/community-problem-solving

The role of BoCo Strong is to assist community leaders to build a program that best serves their community. Laura will be available outside of these meetings/workshops to provide ongoing assistance to the Resilience Leadership Teams in each community. BoCo Strong is excited to assist in building upon the existing leadership and capacity that is already present in your community