Community resilience

Community resilience is about empowering communities, businesses and individuals to use local resources and knowledge to help themselves and their communities in an emergency. Resilience is about being aware of risks that might impact the community, individual, or business and planning and preparing for them to minimise impact and disruption. It is about communities and individuals coming together to help themselves and each other.

The benefits 

Community resilience can complement the work of the emergency services and provide a real benefit to those involved. During an emergency resources will often be stretched, with government and emergency responders having to prioritise those who need the most help. Being able to help yourself and others reduces the strain on responders and the benefit of communities being prepared becomes evident.

The community does not necessarily have to mean the people that live near you, it can take many forms. It could, for example, be a faith group, a sports team or other social group.

There are many ways to improve resilience, ranging from very simple tasks to more intensive activities. Here are a few suggestions:

• fill in the My emergency plan booklet for your household
• consider the risks that may affect you, look at past incidents that have occurred in Islington
• make sure you have a list of emergency contact numbers
• consider the vulnerable people in your area, and recognise what help they will need should an emergency arise
• identify the skills and resources you could offer to help in an emergency; perhaps you could translate information for those who don’t speak English. We are always looking for businesses that would be willing to open their doors for displaced residents and be added to the council plan, get in touch if this is something you could do
• make sure your business is prepared for disruption, find out more on our business continuity page.

Get to know your neighbours 

Reducing vulnerability and improving resilience can begin with simply getting to know your neighbours. Knowing those in your community who may be more vulnerable, such as the elderly or the disabled, means you can check in on them should an emergency occur. Encourage vulnerable people to sign up to the Priority Services Register for people in need - a free service provided by gas and electricity providers. Customers on the Priority Services Register can get help in an emergency, including alternative heating and facilities. Find out more and sign up through your supplier here.

Types of emergencies

To find out about the types of emergencies we face in London, have a look at the London Risk Register, which has been produced by the Mayor of London. You can also look at our emergency preparedness checklist to see how prepared you are for an emergency, and check our My emergency plan booklet to create your own emergency plan.

More information

If you would like further advice on how to be more prepared or how to help in your community, contact us: email emergencyplanning@islington.gov.uk or telephone 020 7527 2000.