The Resilience Divide

An introduction

At One Concern, we view resilience as the ability of individuals, businesses or communities to withstand and adapt to acute shocks and long term stresses. We are working to make disasters less disastrous, with a vision of building a world where resilience is built into every facet of life. True resilience can only be established when all entities and populations are able to cope and recover from adverse outcomes, extreme circumstances, and disaster-level events.

Over the past several years, we have worked with leaders and organizations to minimize natural disaster impacts before, during and after these events, helping them to adapt and recover quickly. As we gather more data, we are uncovering the vast differences in which individuals and communities experience disaster impacts. For both acute impacts and long-term recovery, factors such as the country or region in which you live, your race, and your socioeconomic status play a large role in determining your ability to thrive — and to be resilient — in the face of a disaster. We call this the Resilience Divide.

The past few months have illuminated the stark contrast in realities experienced by Americans across the country. By working to address the Resilience Divide, we can pursue a vision of not only a more just and equal society, but one that is capable of thriving in spite of significant challenges — from public health and geopolitical uncertainty to climate change and natural disasters.

In our forthcoming series, we will explore some of our research and analytics on the disparate impacts of natural disasters, and how we can move forward to build a truly resilient society and close the Resilience Divide.