Expert discusses how communities can thrive despite adverse events by building resilient traits

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) — You most likely have heard and know meaning of being resilient, especially after a natural disaster. But what about community resilience?

A strong community is more than just being able to bounce back from events. In fact, it goes much deeper than that.

In spite of adverse events, communities can thrive by building resilient traits. Those include helping our neighbors in times of need and watching out for the safety and welfare of neighborhood children.

This can be challenging when people may feel unsafe, but we can reduce the risk of harm through reasonable safety measures.

Laura Baxter, director of the Institute for Childhood Resilience at LSU Health Shreveport, joined KSLA’s Priscilla Borrego in the studio Monday (July 24) to educate us on this topic.

She defined community resilience and discussed:

• how we can interrupt the cycle of distress and violence in our community by building community resilience,
• the signs that we need community resilience,
• why we need more of it,
• and how we can immediately start implementing it in our lives, both at home and out in the real world.

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