Emergency management and education: Whole community resiliency through the buddy system

Globally, block-level vulnerability will continue to increase by the force, multiplying impacts of climate change. Therefore, innovative community policies and programs must galvanize every possible local asset to improve whole community resiliency. Today, in America, one of the most underutilized emergency management (EM) assets is the social capital contained in local education facilities. Through a focused review of a minimal amount of literature available on this topic, this study will establish a plausible context within which a high school-based community buddy system can be proposed. Findings include a multisectoral history of success with buddy support systems that raise personal and organizational resiliencies. Recommendations include the formation of a high school buddy program with vulnerable members of the community that is jointly overseen by the school and the local EM entity. All program recommendations are geared toward practical implementation and have national and international implications.