Resilient communities, families and individuals survive and thrive in tough times and beyond. What does it take? Internal strength, the capacity to adapt effectively to change, and the ability to engage actively in the world.

United Way works with many different partners to build resilience in individuals, families and entire communities. We take action in four independent but related areas:

• Sustenance: activities that create and sustain the conditions related to our basic physical and emotional wellbeing, such as food and shelter
• Adaptation: activities that help families and individuals build basic coping skills and abilities to deal with life’s stresses and changing circumstances
• Opportunity: fostering activities that help people build financial and other assets
• Engagement: enabling active participation in our community, through activities such as volunteerism, recreation and community-wide decision making

Click here to read Investing for Resilience, a summary of our community investment strategy