Rebuilding Communities and Co-Creating Knowledge in Times of Crisis and Emergency

Communities across the globe encounter a myriad of emergencies and crises, ranging from man-made occurrences such as warfare and extreme acts of violence to environmental catastrophes like floods or fires. While the origins and manifestations of these disasters vary, their impact on communities can be profound, resulting in significant loss of life, livelihoods, cultural heritage, and communal well-being. Indeed, the collective trauma experienced in the aftermath of disastrous events can also disrupt community cohesion, exacerbate existing social inequities, and affect the health and resilience, particularly for communities that have already been marginalized by systemic inequality.

Social workers and other mental health practitioners are frequently at the forefront of response efforts, providing essential clinical support and immediate assistance to individuals and families in the aftermath of disasters. However, there is a growing recognition of the need for practice and research to transcend first-aid traditional crisis intervention and adopt a broader approach that views the entire community, considering the unique structures, mechanisms, traditions, and the context of the disaster which it faces. This necessitates social work that adopts a macro perspective, aimed at promoting community resilience, fostering collective efficacy, and empowering grassroots leadership to harness local strengths and resources in the process of rebuilding.

Against this backdrop, the proposed roundtable will pursue three primary goals. First, it seeks to explore how emergencies and crises affect differently positioned communities and how these communities respond to such a complex and traumatic reality. Second, it aims to investigate the evolving role of social work practice in facilitating community resilience and recovery after disaster. Third, it seeks to shed light on the meaningful role that collaborative research can play in the community rebuilding process. The session will bring together researchers and practitioners who have been involved with post-disaster community interventions in diverse settings. The presenters will draw upon a range of case studies to illustrate challenges and opportunities for community healing as well as best practices and lessons learned. The discussion will span a spectrum of contexts, with presentations encompassing experiences from hurricane-affected communities in Florida, interventions to facilitate rebuilding communities in Southern Israel following war, and resilience-building efforts in wildfire-stricken communities in Canada. Two presenters will discuss trust-building within communities in post-disaster contexts; two presenters will explore loss and survivor guilt at the community level; and one presenter will discuss enhancing community engagement and bolstering local capacity and leadership. Throughout the session, special attention will be placed on the role of community-academy partnerships and participatory social work research in facilitating interventions and co-creating knowledge that informs community rebuilding efforts.

Our overarching goal is to foster discussion that acknowledges the complex realities faced by disaster-affected communities while identifying shared strategies and principles that can inform effective community social work practice and policy responses. Through this exchange, we hope to contribute to a deeper conversation about the collective effects that disasters have on the community system and promote collaborative research projects and interventions that honor the resilience and agency of affected communities worldwide.