About the Toolkit
The Central Coast Community Resilience Hubs Toolkit is designed to help local leaders and organizations take practical steps towards creating Community Resilience Hubs. The Toolkit offers an introduction to Community Resilience Hubs, step-by-step guidance organized into five Modules, a library of helpful materials and Central Coast-specific resources, and opportunities to receive no-cost technical support. The guidance provided aims to support the planning and development of Community Resilience Hubs that reflect the unique strengths and needs of the communities they intend to serve.
The Central Coast Climate Collaborative developed this toolkit in recognition of the valuable role of Community Resilience Hubs in the face of more frequent and severe heat waves, flood events, wildfires, and other climate change disasters. We envision a robust network of community-driven Community Resilience Hubs throughout the Central Coast region and welcome you to join us in turning this vision into our shared reality.
We invite you to explore this toolkit and to reach out for additional support.
Community Resilience Hubs are trusted community spaces–like libraries, schools, and community centers–equipped to support residents before, during, and after emergencies.
Toolkit Modules
1. Team Formation: Build a dedicated Project Team and inclusive Working Group by defining roles, engaging diverse stakeholders, and establishing clear collaboration and decision-making processes to ensure a community-centered and effective Community Resilience Hub development.
2. Community Engagement: Elevate community voices by defining clear engagement goals, partnering with trusted local organizations, leveraging existing events for outreach, designing inclusive methods that remove participation barriers, and transparently sharing how input shapes the Community Resilience Hub.
3. Facility Improvements: Assess and upgrade your facility by systematically evaluating existing infrastructure, climate resilience, energy reliability, accessibility, and community needs to develop a comprehensive Facility Improvement Plan that equips the Community Resilience Hub for effective daily operations and emergency response.
4. Emergency Management: Understand local emergency activation procedures and build the Hub’s emergency response capabilities by developing comprehensive plans, securing essential supplies, and providing training to Hub staff, volunteers, and community members.
5. Funding Strategy: Develop a strategic, flexible funding approach that prioritizes projects, leverages diverse funding sources, builds strong funder relationships, continuously improves proposals, and sustains long-term Community Resilience Hub operations aligned with evolving community needs.
The Toolkit is organized into five key modules that can be completed one at a time or in tandem with other modules, depending on each organization’s needs or capacity.
Featured Resources
The Toolkit includes a robust Resources Library featuring key resources, organized by Module, to help you establish your Community Resilience Hub and ensure your community is better prepared for the next emergency.
