advocacy and Well-being services

The Community and Neighborhood Resource Centers (CNRCs) Network can help shift power from city government to residents and community-based organizations within a specific neighborhood or set of neighborhoods. Local government may play a role, but N&CRCs should be co-developed and managed by trusted community organizations and residents. CNRCs can increase community adaptive capacity and resilience by providing residents with direct management and access to resources at sites they identify as well-trusted and well-utilized in their community (e.g., community centers, faith-based organizations, recreation centers). They provide trusted locations for residents to gather and gain access to resources year-round while also providing opportunities for local governments and partners to coordinate adaptation, community-building, communication, and public service efforts.   

The CNRCs initiative involves training and preparing non-government and faith-based organizations’ staff and congregational members to support emergency actions within their families, neighborhood, and workplaces. Additionally, CNRCs provide an opportunity to build Public-Private Partnerships that are foundational to establishing and sustaining CNRCs that provide the resources residents need to enhance their own individual capacity while also supporting and strengthening their neighborhood and neighbors. Instead of being led by local government, they are intended to be supported by local government and other partners but led and managed by community members, community-based organizations, and/or faith-based groups.     

Community members and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) are critical to the sustainment of CNRCs. CNRCs provide city governments with an opportunity to partner with CBOs in a more meaningful way. The N&CRCs model relies on community leaders and CBOs to identify potential locations, manage sites, support the sites in an event of an emergency, and continue to work with local partners and the city to enhance site function. Neighborhood & Community Resource Centers (N&CRCs) are community-serving facilities augmented to support residents and leverage established, trusted, and community-managed facilities that are used year-round as community centers to coordinate resource distribution and services before, during, or after a natural hazard event.     

Examples of CBO’s that can play a role in CNRCs:  

• Resource & Service Providers: Organizations that help lower income residents gain access to food, clothing, medical care, and social services within their neighborhoods. They focus on the material resources needed to survive and grow. 

• Faith-based Groups: Organizations that work with faith communities to address concerns and needs while strengthening surrounding communities and the congregation.  See table below for additional roles.