Climate Change – The Silent Pandemic: Identifying How Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) Mobilizing Financial, Informational, and Resource-based Capital Through the COVID-19 Pandemic Can Inform Climate Change Planning and Response Efforts in Paterson, New Jersey
Loading...
Date
2021-05
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
As of April 21, 2021, COVID-19 is still impacting the needs of community members in Paterson, New Jersey. The community-based organizations interviewed and studied in this undergraduate thesis from March 2020 – April 2021, are working to meet those needs and have fostered a community field through the creation of the Social Justice League. This community field utilized an already existing social field created by the Paterson Alliance, a convening organization that focuses on bringing community-based organizations together. Through the COVID-19 Pandemic, which started altering the way of life in Paterson in March 2020, these community-based organizations banded together and restructured finances to effectively distribute information and mobilize resources such as food and personal care items to community members in need throughout Paterson. The connections and collaborations created through this community field must remain a focal point to ensure the comprehensive and effective recovery and resilience efforts of Paterson residents in the wake of future emergency situations. Continuing to foster a community field among community-based organizations, and expanding this approach to government and business entities, these community fields will better prepare the stakeholders in Paterson for climate change-induced extreme weather events. Paterson is vulnerable to flooding from extreme rain events such as hurricanes and the collaborations and connections between these community-based organizations that formed a community field through the COVID-19 Pandemic should be used as a proxy on how to meet community needs in future emergency response situations. Future research should analyze the Self-Healing Communities Model, which was identified by community-based organizations as foundational through the COVID-19 Pandemic, through the lens of meeting community needs after climate change-induced emergency events (Porter, Martin, & Anda, 2016).
Description
Keywords
Community-Based Organizations, Paterson, New Jersey, Climate Change, Resilience, COVID-19