The Baltimore City Community Resiliency Hub Program

Baltimore’s Community Resiliency Hub Program is an innovative and impactful community-centered initiative that increases community capacity to prepare for, withstand, and respond to natural hazard impacts and emergency situations. The goal of this program is to better connect frontline community organizations with focused support and resources so that, in the event of a natural disaster or emergency, there is improved provision of emergency response and recovery services to under-resourced neighborhoods and their most vulnerable residents. The Program is a partnership between service-based community organizations in Baltimore’s most climate-vulnerable neighborhoods and the Office of Sustainability (BoS), Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and Department of Health (BCHD). The Office of Sustainability is the lead agency that is responsible for growing and managing the Program as a key strategy of Baltimore’s Disaster Preparedness Plan (DP3). 

What Are Community Resiliency Hubs?

Community Resiliency Hubs are trusted, service-based non-profit community organizations (including faith-based) with strong leadership located in under-resourced neighborhoods. They partner with the City and provide essential resources and community support during times of crisis. There are currently eighteen Resiliency Hub partner organizations in the program. The BoS, OEM, and BCHD work with the organizations to enable them to serve as a space where vulnerable neighbors can gather in times of emergency; access reliable power for their essential devices; receive supplies, food, and drinking water; and store medications sensitive to temperature, among other things. Resiliency Hubs can also serve as community-based staging areas for emergency and recovery personnel as well as conduits for critical supply distribution to the community. 

This cohort of community-based organizations is continuing to grow based on availability of resources. If your organization is interested in partnering with the city to provide additional support to community members who are most vulnerable to the worsening impacts of climate change, please reach out to Aubrey Germ, Climate and Resilience Planner, at aubrey.germ@baltimorecity.gov. 

City Support and Partnership

Community Resiliency Hubs receive grant-funded support from the City in many forms including high-quality emergency preparedness supplies, energy efficiency upgrades to their building, back-up power capabilities (rooftop solar + battery storage if feasible), emergency preparedness and response training, connections to grant funding opportunities, and focused support and communications from BoS, OEM, and BCHD. Resiliency Hub convenings and trainings are essential pieces of the program that enable Resiliency Hub Leaders to develop relationships with and learn from one another. Trainings, often led by OEM or HealthCare Ready, help ensure that Hub Leaders and community members are aware of climate and health risks, learn about important City resources and preparedness strategies, and are encouraged to take action in their communities to become more resilient to potential threats. Convenings and trainings are also critical for facilitating continued conversations to determine gaps in the program, address community concerns, and identify opportunities for program growth.

Solar Power + Battery Storage

A priority goal of the Program is to outfit Community Resiliency Hub partner organizations with solar power and battery back-up capabilities. This helps increase access to renewable energy and back-up power in LMI (low to moderate income) communities, reduces the utility cost burden for community organizations, and provides community training and workforce development opportunities. Grant-funding is a critical piece to enabling the expansion of this work. This is an ongoing collaborative effort that involves many project partners, including a core team comprised of Groundswell, Inc, AF Mensah, and Suncatch Energy. Excitingly, the Community Resiliency Hub Program is in an expansion phase due to a grant funding award from the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) to assess solar power and battery storage feasibility for up to 30 community organizations interested in joining the Program. The team has also been awarded funding to support the purchase and installation of solar power and battery storage systems for four Community Resiliency Hub partner organizations. Four Community Resiliency Hubs already have solar and battery back-up capabilities.

2023 Community Resiliency Hub Partner Locations

Community Resiliency Hubs in the News

Program Contact Information

Aubrey Germ, Climate and Resilience Planner
aubrey.germ@baltimorecity.gov
410-396-5917